大智度論 白話全本 · 冊8Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Complete Vernacular · Vol. 8

This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the fifty-third chapter, "Tending toward Omniscience", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-first fascicle.

Sūtra ①: Toward What Should Those Who Understand Deep Prajñā Tend—Tending toward the Omniscience of All Kinds, Being That toward Which Beings Return and Tend, Practising Nothing, the Practice of Not Receiving, the Practice of Ruin, and the Avaivartika Who Should Be Tested and Known

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! These bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who can understand very deep prajñāpāramitā—toward what should they tend?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘This bodhisattva-mahāsattva who understands very deep prajñāpāramitā should tend toward the omniscience of all kinds.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva who can tend toward the omniscience of all kinds becomes that toward which all beings return and tend, because he practises prajñāpāramitā. World-Honored One! To practise prajñāpāramitā is to practise all dharmas. World-Honored One! Practising nothing is practising prajñāpāramitā; the practice of not receiving and the practice of ruin are practising prajñāpāramitā.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘By the ruin of which dharma is prajñāpāramitā the practice of ruin?’

‘World-Honored One! By the ruin of form, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin; by the ruin of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, the twelve sense-fields, and the eighteen elements, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin; by the ruin of the self and so on up to the knower and the seer, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin. World-Honored One! By the ruin of dānapāramitā, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin; and so on up to by the ruin of prajñāpāramitā, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin; by the ruin of inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, of the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and of the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin.’

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! Subhūti! By the ruin of form, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin; and so on up to by the ruin of the omniscience of all kinds, prajñāpāramitā is the practice of ruin.’

At that time the Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Within this very deep prajñāpāramitā, the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva should be tested and known! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to no clinging within this very deep prajñāpāramitā, know that this person is avaivartika; if he does not cling within dhyānapāramitā and so on up to dānapāramitā, and does not cling within the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, know that this person is avaivartika.’

Treatise ①: If It Neither Tends nor Does Not Tend, Why Ask about Tending and Answer with Tending—the Refutation of the Outside Paths' Tending from Cause to Fruit, Question and Answer with a Mind without Clinging, the Simile of a Child Tending toward Its Father and Mother, the Glosses of the Four Meanings, the Two Kinds of Bodhisattva Who Practise Prajñā

The treatise-author asks:

Prajñāpāramitā neither tends nor does not tend; why then does Subhūti ask ‘toward where does one who practises prajñā tend’? And why does the Buddha answer ‘he tends toward sarvajñā’?

The treatise-author answers:

The outside paths say: ‘Dharmas tend from cause toward fruit, enter this life from the former life, and tend from this life toward the next life.’ It is to break this inversion, the view of permanence, that ‘no tending, not tending’ is spoken.

Here, Subhūti asks with a mind without clinging, and the Buddha answers with a mind without clinging. Prajñāpāramitā is ultimately empty and is without hindrance and without obstruction toward all dharmas; because the liberation without hindrance and without obstruction has been obtained, it is without hindrance and without obstruction. Because cause and fruit resemble each other, it is said: ‘One who understands very deep prajñā tends toward the omniscience of all kinds.’

Subhūti says: ‘The bodhisattva who knows prajñāpāramitā is that toward which all beings return and tend.’ It is like a child who, pressed by pain and distress, then tends toward its father and mother.

The treatise-author asks:

Why is it only when the bodhisattva understands very deep prajñāpāramitā that he is that toward which beings return and tend?

The treatise-author answers:

Because the bodhisattva has the mind of great compassion toward beings, he constantly trains in prajñāpāramitā. Because of this training he can understand that all dharmas enter into prajñāpāramitā, and so it is said 「修般若波羅蜜即修一切法」 tr. "to practise prajñāpāramitā is to practise all dharmas".

Prajñā has no fixed, real dharma that can be found, and so the sūtra says 「無所修是修般若波羅蜜」 tr. "practising nothing is practising prajñāpāramitā". Within prajñāpāramitā, because all contemplations have faults, they are not received; this is called the practice of not receiving. The meaning of the practice of ruin is that all dharmas are impermanent, scatter, and fall to ruin; hence it is called the practice of ruin. The dharmas that can be broken and ruined are form and the rest, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds.

The Buddha approved what Subhūti said.

At the end of the preceding chapter the nature, mark, and appearance of the avaivartika bodhisattva were spoken of; now they should be tested and known. Within very deep prajñāpāramitā, does he cling, or does he not cling? If he clings, then it is not; if he does not cling, then that is his mark.

The bodhisattvas who practise prajñāpāramitā are of two kinds: first, one who by means of prajñāpāramitā contemplates all dharmas as ultimately empty, and prajñā too as empty of itself; second, one who cannot contemplate prajñā as empty as well. Therefore the sūtra tests and knows whether he clings or does not cling.

Sūtra ②: The Marks by Which the Avaivartika Is Tested and Known—Not Taking Others' Words as What Is Firm and Essential, Not Dragged by a Mind of Desire, Hatred, or Delusion, Not Straying from the Six Perfections, Not Startled or Terrified on Hearing Deep Prajñā; in Accord with the Mind of the Omniscience of All Kinds; Not Practising Form and So On up to the Omniscience of All Kinds; Form Is Sarvajñā

‘If an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva, when practising very deep prajñāpāramitā, does not take others' words as what is firm and essential, nor practises following others' teaching. The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is not dragged by a mind of desire, a mind of hatred, or a mind of delusion. If the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not stray far from the six perfections. If the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva, when he hears someone expound very deep prajñāpāramitā, has a mind that is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, is not afraid, has no regret, and he gladly delights in hearing it, receives and upholds it, reads it, recites it, rightly recollects it, and practises as it is taught. Subhūti! Know that in a former life this bodhisattva already asked about the matters within this very deep prajñāpāramitā, and received and upheld, read, recited, expounded, and rightly recollected it. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has great majestic virtue, on hearing this very deep prajñāpāramitā his mind is not startled, is not terrified, is not afraid, does not sink, has no regret; he gladly delights in hearing it, receives and upholds it, reads it, recites it, and rightly recollects it.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears very deep prajñāpāramitā and is not startled, is not terrified, and so on up to rightly recollects it—World-Honored One! how does this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practise prajñāpāramitā?’

The Buddha said: ‘In accord with the mind of the omniscience of all kinds—this bodhisattva-mahāsattva should practise prajñāpāramitā thus.’

‘World-Honored One! What is called being in accord with the mind of the omniscience of all kinds, such that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva should practise prajñāpāramitā thus?’

The Buddha said: ‘To accord by emptiness—this is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's practising very deep prajñāpāramitā; to accord by the signless, by non-action, by being without anything existent, by non-arising and non-ceasing, by being neither stained nor pure—this bodhisattva-mahāsattva should practise prajñāpāramitā thus; to accord by being like a dream, like an illusion, like a mirage, like an echo, like a transformation—this is practising prajñāpāramitā.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘The Buddha says that to accord by emptiness and so on up to to accord by being like a dream, like an illusion, is practising prajñāpāramitā. World-Honored One! What dharma does this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practise—is it form, is it feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to is it the omniscience of all kinds?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not practise form, does not practise feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to does not practise the omniscience of all kinds. Why? In this bodhisattva-mahāsattva's place of practice there is no dharma of making and no dharma of ruin; it comes from nowhere and goes nowhere, and has no place of abiding; this dharma cannot be counted and is without measure; if it is without number and without measure, this dharma is unfindable—it cannot be found by means of form, and so on up to it cannot be found by means of the omniscience of all kinds. Why? Form is sarvajñā, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds is sarvajñā. The mark of suchness of form and so on up to the mark of suchness of the omniscience of all kinds are all one suchness, without duality and without difference.’

Treatise ②: Explaining the Marks by Which He Is Tested and Known—Others Are of Two Kinds and So He Does Not Believe, a Mind Settled and Weighty That Does Not Shift, the Afflictions Broken Down and Thinned, Not Straying from the Six Perfections, the Simile of the Thunderclap and the Peacock, According with Ultimate Emptiness Is According with the Omniscience of All Kinds, without Making, without Ruin, Coming from Nowhere, Going Nowhere, Not Abiding, without Number and without Measure, Form and the Rest Are Sarvajñā

The treatise-author explains:

In the matters the avaivartika bodhisattva speaks of, he does not give rise, within the words of others, to such a thought as: ‘In this there is the real or the unreal.’ Why? Others are of two kinds: householders, who crave and cling to the pleasures of the five desires and are false, deceptive, and impure; and those of the outside paths who have gone forth, who cling to wrong views and are not true. What these people say has no real matter in it, and so he does not believe it. Because he himself has already obtained the real mark of all dharmas, even if the body of a Buddha came and spoke words that break the real mark of all dharmas, he would not believe it; because he has obtained the unconditioned dharma, his mind is settled and weighty and no longer shifts.

Although this bodhisattva has not yet obtained the Buddha's path, because the afflictions of craving and the rest have already been broken down and thinned, he is not dragged by them.

His mind constantly does not stray from the six perfections; because he knows the flavour of the fruit and retribution of wholesome dharmas, his mind constantly loves and delights in them and does not stray from the six perfections.

Because of such various causes and conditions as these, on hearing very deep prajñā he is not terrified and not afraid, and gladly wishes to hear it, reads it, recites it, asks its meaning, and trains in it. It is as with a thunderclap: small birds are terrified and die of fright, while the peacock, a great bird, rejoices and dances. Prajñāpāramitā is also like this: ordinary people of wrong view hear it and are terrified; the avaivartika bodhisattva hears it and rejoices, his mind never sated; hence it is said 「歡喜樂聞」 tr. "he gladly delights in hearing it".

Here the Buddha states the causes and conditions: ‘In past lives this bodhisattva already heard very deep prajñāpāramitā; because he amassed much merit and wisdom he has great majestic virtue, and because he has great majestic virtue he is not terrified and not afraid.’

Subhūti asks: ‘Although this bodhisattva is not terrified and not afraid on hearing very deep prajñāpāramitā, this prajñā has no fixed mark; how should he practise?’

The Buddha says: ‘In accord with the mind of the omniscience of all kinds.’

The treatise-author asks:

This bodhisattva has not yet obtained the omniscience of all kinds; how can he accord with it?

The treatise-author answers:

Therefore it is said: ‘The mind that accords with ultimate emptiness is the mind that accords with the omniscience of all kinds.’ The omniscience of all kinds is the mark of quiescence; the Buddha says in a later chapter: ‘The mark of all quiescence is the omniscience of all kinds.’ Therefore it is said: ‘To accord with ultimate emptiness is to accord with the omniscience of all kinds.’ The signless, non-action, space, no arising and no ceasing, without stain and without purity, like a dream, and the rest, are also like this.

At that time Subhūti asks: ‘The mind that accords with ultimate emptiness—what dharmas does it contemplate?’

The Buddha answers: ‘It does not contemplate form, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds.’

Why? Wisdom seeks to take hold of what is real, while form and the rest, conditioned and made dharmas, are all false; the omniscience of all kinds alone is a real dharma. Because it is a real dharma, it passes beyond conditioned dharmas; because it passes beyond conditioned dharmas, this dharma is spoken of thus—「無作」 tr. "without making": there is no maker. 「無壞法」 tr. "a dharma without ruin": there is no ruiner. This dharma does not come from the six perfections, and so it is said 「無所從來」 tr. "coming from nowhere". It does not enter into the dharmas of the Buddha, and so it is said 「無所去」 tr. "going nowhere". Conditioned dharmas, because they are false and deceptive, 「不住」 tr. "do not abide"; within unconditioned dharmas, because there is no recollection, imagining, and discrimination, it also 「不住」 tr. "does not abide". Because the five aggregates come together there is the count of the six destinies; when the continuity of the five aggregates is broken there is 「無數、無量」 tr. "no number, no measure". Because there is no number and no measure, the way of words is cut off; because the way of words is cut off, it cannot be found by practising form and the other dharmas.

Here the Buddha himself states the causes and conditions: ‘Form and the other dharmas are sarvajñā, and sarvajñā is form and the other dharmas. Why? The suchness of form and the other dharmas is the suchness of sarvajñā, and the suchness of sarvajñā is the suchness of form and the other dharmas; for this reason suchness is spoken of, and this suchness is without duality and without difference.’

This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the fifty-fourth chapter, "The Great Suchness", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-second fascicle.

Sūtra ①: The Gods Praise Awakening as Very Deep—Form Is Sarvajñā, the Mark of Suchness Is One Suchness without Duality and without Difference; Why, on First Attaining the Path, He Was Silent and Did Not Expound; This Dharma Accords with All Dharmas and Is Unobstructed, Non-arising, and without Place; the Manifold Meaning of the Mark of Suchness in Subhūti's Being Born Following the Buddha; the Great Earth Shakes in Six Ways

At that time the gods of the desire realm and the gods of the form realm, with heavenly sandalwood powder and with heavenly blue lotuses, red lotuses, crimson lotuses, and white lotuses, scattered them from afar over the Buddha's body, came to where the Buddha was, bowed their heads at the Buddha's feet, stood to one side, and addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi of the buddhas is very deep, hard to see, hard to understand, cannot be known by thinking, subtle and quiescent; only those who have wisdom can know it, and all the world cannot believe and accept it. Why? Because within this very deep prajñāpāramitā it is said thus: form is sarvajñā, and sarvajñā is form; and so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds is sarvajñā, and sarvajñā is the omniscience of all kinds. The mark of suchness of form and the mark of suchness of sarvajñā are one suchness, without duality and without difference; and so on up to: the mark of suchness of the omniscience of all kinds and the mark of suchness of sarvajñā are one suchness, without duality and without difference.’

The Buddha told the gods of the desire realm and the form realm: ‘Just so! Just so! Gods! Form is sarvajñā, and sarvajñā is form; and so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds is sarvajñā, and sarvajñā is the omniscience of all kinds. The mark of suchness of form, and so on up to the mark of suchness of the omniscience of all kinds, are one suchness, without duality and without difference. Gods! For this reason, when the Buddha first attained the path, his mind delighted in silence and did not delight in expounding the Dharma. Why? Because the dharma of the anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi of the buddhas is very deep, hard to see, hard to understand, cannot be known by thinking, subtle and quiescent; only those who have wisdom can know it, and all the world cannot believe and accept it. Why? Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi has no one who obtains it, no place of obtaining, no time of obtaining; this is called the very deep mark of all dharmas—that is, there are no two dharmas. Gods! Because space is very deep, this Dharma is very deep; because suchness is very deep, this Dharma is very deep; because the nature of dharmas is very deep, the limit of reality is very deep, the inconceivable is very deep, the limitless is very deep, this Dharma is very deep; because no coming and no going is very deep, this Dharma is very deep; because non-arising and non-ceasing, without stain and without purity, without knowing and without obtaining are very deep, this Dharma is very deep. Gods! Because self is very deep, and so on up to the knower and the seer are very deep, this Dharma is very deep. Gods! Because form is very deep, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are very deep, this Dharma is very deep. Because dānapāramitā is very deep, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā is very deep, this Dharma is very deep. Because inner emptiness, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, is very deep, this Dharma is very deep; because the four foundations of mindfulness are very deep, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds is very deep, this Dharma is very deep.’

At that time the gods of the desire realm and the form realm addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This Dharma that is expounded, all the world cannot believe and accept. World-Honored One! This very deep Dharma is not expounded for the sake of receiving form, nor is it expounded for the sake of discarding form; it is not expounded for the sake of receiving feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, nor is it expounded for the sake of discarding feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness. It is not expounded for the sake of receiving the fruit of srota-āpanna, nor is it expounded for the sake of discarding the fruit of srota-āpanna; and so on up to: it is not expounded for the sake of receiving the omniscience of all kinds, nor is it expounded for the sake of discarding the omniscience of all kinds. The world all practises by receiving and clinging—that is to say: form is self, is what belongs to self; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are self, are what belongs to self; and so on up to: the eighteen unshared dharmas are self, are what belongs to self; the fruit of srota-āpanna is self, is what belongs to self; and so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds is self, is what belongs to self.’

The Buddha told the gods: ‘Just so! Just so! Gods! This Dharma is not expounded for the sake of receiving form, nor is it expounded for the sake of discarding form; and so on up to: it is not expounded for the sake of receiving the omniscience of all kinds, nor is it expounded for the sake of discarding the omniscience of all kinds. Gods! If there is a bodhisattva who practises for the sake of receiving form, and so on up to practises for the sake of receiving the omniscience of all kinds, this bodhisattva cannot cultivate prajñāpāramitā, cannot cultivate dhyānapāramitā, vīryapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, śīlapāramitā, cannot cultivate dānapāramitā, and so on up to cannot cultivate the omniscience of all kinds.’

Subhūti addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This Dharma accords with all dharmas. How is it that this Dharma accords with all dharmas? This Dharma accords with prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to accords with dānapāramitā; this Dharma accords with inner emptiness, and so on up to accords with the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; this Dharma accords with the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to accords with the omniscience of all kinds. This Dharma has no obstruction: it does not obstruct form, does not obstruct feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to does not obstruct the omniscience of all kinds. Gods! This Dharma is called the mark of non-obstruction, because it is equal, like space; because it is equal with suchness, the nature of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable; because it is equal with emptiness, the signless, and non-action. This Dharma is the mark of non-arising—form does not arise, because it is unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness do not arise, because they are unfindable; and so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds does not arise, because it is unfindable. This Dharma has no place—because the place of form is unfindable; because the place of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is unfindable; and so on up to: because the place of the omniscience of all kinds is unfindable.’

Then the gods of the desire realm and the form realm addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Subhūti is a son of the Buddha, born following the Buddha. Why? Because all that Subhūti says accords with emptiness.’

At that time Subhūti said to the gods: ‘You say that Subhūti is a son of the Buddha, born following the Buddha. What is it to be born following the Buddha? Gods! Because of the mark of suchness, Subhūti is born following the Buddha. Why? Because the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata does not come and does not go, and the mark of suchness of Subhūti also does not come and does not go; therefore Subhūti is born following the Buddha.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti from the beginning has been born following the Buddha. Why? Because the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is the mark of suchness of all dharmas, and the mark of suchness of all dharmas is the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata. And within this mark of suchness there is not a single mark of suchness to be found either; therefore Subhūti is born following the Buddha.

‘Furthermore, the suchness of the Tathāgata is the mark of permanent abiding, and the suchness of Subhūti is also the mark of permanent abiding; the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is without variance and without difference, and the mark of suchness of Subhūti is also without variance and without difference; therefore Subhūti is born following the Buddha. The mark of suchness of the Tathāgata has no place of obstruction, and the mark of suchness of all dharmas also has no place of obstruction; this mark of suchness of the Tathāgata and the mark of suchness of all dharmas are one suchness, without duality and without difference. This mark of suchness is without making, and in the end it is never not such; therefore this mark of suchness is one suchness, without duality and without difference; therefore Subhūti is born following the Buddha. The mark of suchness of the Tathāgata in all places is without recollection and without discrimination, and the mark of suchness of Subhūti is also thus, in all places without recollection and without discrimination; the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is not different and not distinct, and is unfindable, and the mark of suchness of Subhūti is also thus; for this reason Subhūti is born following the Buddha. The mark of suchness of the Tathāgata does not stray far from the mark of suchness of all dharmas, and this suchness in the end is never not such; therefore the suchness of Subhūti has no difference and is born following the Buddha, and yet there is not a single thing that is followed.

‘Furthermore, the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is not past, not future, not present, and the mark of suchness of all dharmas is also not past, not future, not present; therefore Subhūti is born following the Buddha.

‘Furthermore, the suchness of the Tathāgata is not within the suchness of the past, and the suchness of the past is not within the suchness of the Tathāgata either; the suchness of the Tathāgata is not within the suchness of the future, and the suchness of the future is not within the suchness of the Tathāgata; the suchness of the Tathāgata is not within the suchness of the present, and the suchness of the present is not within the suchness of the Tathāgata. The suchness of past, future, and present and the suchness of the Tathāgata are one suchness, without duality and without difference. The suchness of form and the suchness of the Tathāgata, the suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness and the suchness of the Tathāgata—this suchness of form, this suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and the suchness of the Tathāgata are one suchness, without duality and without difference; the suchness of self, and so on up to the suchness of the knower and the seer, and the suchness of the Tathāgata are one suchness, without duality and without difference; the suchness of dānapāramitā and so on up to the suchness of prajñāpāramitā, the suchness of inner emptiness and so on up to the suchness of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, the suchness of the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds, and the suchness of the Tathāgata are one suchness, without duality and without difference.’

The Buddha said: ‘Subhūti! Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains this suchness, he is called Tathāgata.’

When this chapter on the mark of suchness was expounded, the great earth of this three-thousand great-thousand world shook in six ways—the east rose and the west sank, the west rose and the east sank; the south rose and the north sank, the north rose and the south sank; the centre rose and the four sides sank, the four sides rose and the centre sank.

Treatise ①: The Judgement of Shallow and Deep, and the Simile of the Eddies of River Water; the All of Names and the Real All; First Faith, Then Knowing; Prajñā and Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi Differ in Name and Are One in Substance; the Simile of Burning Sandalwood and Mixed Woods; the Simile of the Peg Driven into the Mark of Space in a Wall; the Three Seeds, and the Five Kinds of Sons of the Buddha; Three Views Given as What Someone Says, Explaining Why It Is Not Said That the Bodhisattva Who Has Entered the Dharma-position Is Born Following; the Manifold Reconciliation of the Suchness of the Tathāgata and the Suchness of Subhūti

Someone asks:

If there is not a single place where prajñāpāramitā is not very deep, why is it at times praised in particular as very deep?

The answer:

Within prajñāpāramitā, at times all dharmas are discriminated as empty, and this is shallow; at times it is said that the dharmas of the world are the same as nirvāṇa, and this is deep. Form and the other dharmas are the Buddha's Dharma: the hearer, hearing this, believes the Buddha's words in his mind, and because his own wisdom does not reach it, it is said to be very deep. It is like the water of a river, which has eddies and deep places and also has shallow places.

Someone asks:

Since the Dharma the gods praise is very deep, and all the world cannot believe and accept it, why speak it at all?

The answer:

There are two kinds of all: one, the all of names; two, the real all. The all spoken of here is the all of names: because many people do not believe, the word all is used. As for its saying here that it is subtle and quiescent and that only those who have wisdom can know it—the one who can know must first have faith, because first there is faith and afterwards knowing.

Furthermore, this prajñāpāramitā only the Buddha can know. What beings believe on hearing it expounded does not count here as faith; only after wisdom has known it is it called faith.

Someone asks:

If so, why does it say that it is subtle and that only those who have wisdom can know it?

The answer:

In all the world there is no one who can know the wisdom of the buddhas completely; of the quiescent Dharma, those who have wisdom can know a small part.

It is like the srota-āpanna, who within the unsurpassed path obtains a small part—that is, he has severed the three fetters; in this way the paths increase one after another. If the world did not believe at all, how could there be these paths? For this reason it says that it is quiescent and that those who have wisdom can know it.

Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is prajñāpāramitā; only the names differ—in the mind of the bodhisattva it is called prajñā, in the mind of the Buddha it is called anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Here it says that form and the other dharmas are sarvajñā, and sarvajñā is form and the other dharmas. Here it says that the suchness of form and the other dharmas and the suchness of sarvajñā are without duality and without difference.

The Buddha approved the gods' meaning and went further to state the causes and conditions: suchness is the real mark of form and the other dharmas. As when palaces and all kinds of mean huts are removed, or as when sandalwood and mixed woods are burned, the space that remains in that place is no different; form and sarvajñā and the other dharmas, when one searches out their reality, are all suchness. For this reason, when the Buddha first attained the path, his mind delighted in silence and did not delight in expounding the Dharma—because he knew that this very deep Dharma is hard for ordinary people to awaken to.

Furthermore, this Dharma is very deep because it is non-dual, very deep because it is like space, very deep because suchness, the nature of dharmas, and the rest are very deep.

At that time the gods, knowing that this Dharma has no mark that can be grasped, addressed the Buddha: this Dharma that is expounded, all the world cannot believe and accept; this Dharma is not expounded for the sake of receiving form and the other dharmas.

The Buddha approved their words, and said that if there is a bodhisattva who practises the bodhisattva path for the sake of receiving form and the rest, he cannot cultivate prajñāpāramitā and the other merits.

Subhūti addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One! This mark of prajñāpāramitā accords with all dharmas and has no obstruction of any kind. Why? Because it does not cling even to prajñāpāramitā. And he stated the causes and conditions of its not obstructing—because it is equal, like space. It is like a wall: within the wall there is from the start the mark of space; a small child takes a wooden peg to drive into it, and because his strength is small it does not go in, while one of great strength can drive it in. The practitioner is also like this: within form and the other dharmas there is from the start the mark of how they really are; because the power of his wisdom is small he cannot make them empty, and only one of great wisdom can know it. Therefore it is said that all dharmas are unobstructed, equal like space.

Form and the other dharmas do not arise and are also unfindable; for this reason it is called non-arising. It is not only that form and the rest do not arise—if a single dharma of non-arising could be found, that would not be ultimate emptiness, and it would not be called without obtaining. Having no place of abiding is also like this.

At that time the gods addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One! Subhūti is born following the Buddha. Why? Because what he knows and what he says all accord with emptiness.

Furthermore, the sūtras say there are three kinds of sons: one, born not in accord; two, born in accord; three, born superior. People of the world all wish for two kinds of sons—the son in accord and the son who is superior. In the Buddha's Dharma, however, only one kind is wanted: born in accord, because there is no one who can surpass the Buddha.

The sons of the Buddha are of five kinds, all born from the Buddha's mouth, born from the Dharma: the srota-āpanna and so on up to the arhat, and the bodhisattva who has entered the right position. Although the pratyekabuddha plants causes and conditions within the Buddha's Dharma, he can attain the path by himself at a time when there is no Buddha; therefore he cannot be said to be born from the Buddha's mouth, because the causes and conditions are distant.

Those whose outflows are exhausted are born in accord. Subhūti, among those whose outflows are exhausted, always delights in ultimate emptiness; this is being born in accord. Why? Because the dharma he practises cannot be broken, like space; the Buddha's Dharma is of just this mark; this is called being born following the Buddha.

Someone asks:

Why is it not said that the bodhisattva who has entered the Dharma-position is born following the Buddha?

The answer:

Someone says: because his outflows are not yet exhausted, it is not said of him; because Subhūti's outflows are already exhausted, it is said of him.

Someone says: those who enter nirvāṇa without remainder are foremost in purity. The arhat in his last body abides in nirvāṇa with remainder and is near the gate of nirvāṇa without remainder; therefore it is said of him. Although the bodhisattva has deep and sharp wisdom, he goes back and forth within birth and death; therefore it is not said of him.

Someone says: prajñā is of two kinds—one, expounded solely for the great bodhisattvas; two, expounded in common to the three vehicles. Within the prajñā expounded in common with the śrāvakas, Subhūti is born following the Buddha; but when it is expounded only to bodhisattvas, it is not said that Subhūti is born following the Buddha. Why? The great bodhisattva whose body is born of the Dharma-nature has there no body of birth brought about by fetters and karma, only a body born of transformation; he has destroyed the three poisons and left the three realms, and he abides in the world in order to teach and transform beings and to purify buddha-worlds; in this there are no śrāvakas whatsoever. The Buddha has the mind of great kindness and compassion, and the bodhisattva's mind is also thus; this is called the bodhisattva's being born following; because Subhūti only takes nirvāṇa, it is not said that he is born following. This sūtra is expounded in common with the two vehicles. Subhūti knows that prajñāpāramitā is very deep, and also knows that the power of the bodhisattva whose body is born of the Dharma-nature is great.

Although the gods praised him, he should not accept it; therefore he said to the gods: all dharmas are of one mark, that is, the signless; for this reason it is said that he is born following the Buddha, because suchness has no difference.

As the suchness spoken of in the sūtra: the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata does not come and does not go, and the mark of suchness of Subhūti also does not come and does not go.

Furthermore, the suchness of the Tathāgata is ultimately empty, and the suchness of all dharmas is also ultimately empty. Within the suchness of all dharmas the suchness of Subhūti is included; therefore Subhūti, by way of the suchness of the Tathāgata, is born following the Buddha.

Furthermore, just as the suchness of the Tathāgata is without recollection, imagining, and discrimination, permanently abiding, like space, the suchness of Subhūti is also thus. Therefore Subhūti is born following the Buddha.

Furthermore, just as the suchness of the Tathāgata, because it has obtained unobstructed liberation, has no hindrance within all dharmas, the suchness of all dharmas is also thus, and within all dharmas also has no hindrance. The suchness of the Tathāgata and the suchness of all dharmas are one suchness, without difference; the suchness of Subhūti also enters into the suchness of all dharmas; for this reason he is born following the Buddha.

Furthermore, the mark of suchness of all dharmas is without making and without a maker, and the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is also thus; the suchness of Subhūti is included in the suchness of all dharmas; therefore he is born following the Buddha.

Furthermore, just as the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata in all places is always without recollection, imagining, and discrimination; the suchness of Subhūti is included in the suchness of all dharmas; therefore he is born following the Buddha.

Furthermore, the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is not apart from the suchness of all dharmas. Rightly contemplating all dharmas is called Buddha; all dharmas are the causes and conditions, and the Buddha is the fruit of retribution; therefore it is said that the suchness of the Tathāgata is not apart from the suchness of all dharmas. Because this suchness is as it really is, it is always such, and there is no time when it is not such; the suchness of Subhūti is also thus without difference; therefore he is born following the Buddha, and yet there is not a single dharma that can be followed.

Furthermore, the mark of suchness of the Tathāgata is without recollection, imagining, and discrimination and passes beyond the three times, and the suchness of all dharmas is also thus; the suchness of Subhūti also passes beyond the three times; therefore he is born following the Buddha.

Furthermore, the suchness of the Tathāgata is not within the suchness of the past. Why? Because the Tathāgata is empty, and the past too is ultimately empty; therefore emptiness does not abide within emptiness, just as space does not abide within space. The future and the present are also like this. As for what is called the suchness of the three times and the suchness of the Tathāgata being not two and not discriminated—the suchness of the three times is emptiness, the signless, without arising and without ceasing, and so on; the suchness of the Tathāgata is also thus. The suchness of the three times has no obstruction: as the past age is endless and without limit, the future age is also endless and without limit, and the present age is also endless and without limit; the suchness of the Tathāgata is also thus. These three times and ten directions are endless and without limit, and the suchness of Subhūti is also thus.

Furthermore, the suchness of the five aggregates, and so on up to the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds, and the suchness of the Tathāgata are without duality and without difference. Why? Because only through the coming together of form and the other dharmas is there a Tathāgata. Such a Tathāgata cannot be said to be only form and the other dharmas, nor can he be said to be apart from form and the other dharmas, nor can it be said that form and the other dharmas are within the Tathāgata, nor that the Tathāgata is within form and the other dharmas, nor that form and the other dharmas belong to the Tathāgata, nor can it be said that there is no Tathāgata. Within the five aggregates, form and the other dharmas, the name Tathāgata is provisionally borrowed. The suchness of the Tathāgata is the suchness of all dharmas; therefore it is said that the suchness of form and the other dharmas and the suchness of the Tathāgata are not two and not different. Ordinary people see duality and difference; the noble ones contemplate and see no duality and no difference; the noble ones can be believed, and what ordinary people see cannot be believed.

The Buddha told Subhūti: this is called suchness; because of this suchness the Buddha is called Tathāgata. What is called Tathāgata is one who proceeds as things really are and comes into the Buddha's Dharma.

When this suchness was expounded, the great earth shook in six ways, as described above.

Sūtra ②: The Gods Again Scatter Incense in Praise; Subhūti Breaks the Clinging to Being Born Following the Buddha with Four Statements; Śāriputra Asks about the Unfindability of the Suchness of Form, and the Buddha Confirms It; Four Groups Hear the Mark of Suchness and Each Attains the Path Differently, and Six Thousand Bodhisattvas without the Power of Skilful Means Fall to Arhatship; the Simile of the Great Bird without Wings; the Power of Skilful Means and the Mind Free of Marks; It Closes with Cultivating the Six Perfections with a Mind without Obtaining and without Marks

Then the gods of the desire realm and the gods of the form realm scattered heavenly sandalwood powder over the Buddha's body, and scattered it over Subhūti's body as well, and addressed the Buddha: ‘Never before has there been such a thing! World-Honored One! Subhūti is born following the Buddha by way of the suchness of the Tathāgata.’

Subhūti again spoke to the gods: ‘Gods! Subhūti is not born following the Buddha from within form, nor is he born following the Buddha from within the suchness of form; he is not born following the Buddha apart from form, nor is he born following the Buddha apart from the suchness of form. Subhūti is not born following the Buddha from within feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, nor is he born following the Buddha from within the suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; he is not born following the Buddha apart from feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, nor is he born following the Buddha apart from the suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness. And so on up to: he is not born following the Buddha from within the omniscience of all kinds, nor is he born following the Buddha from within the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds; he is not born following the Buddha apart from the omniscience of all kinds, nor is he born following the Buddha apart from the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds. Subhūti is not born following the Buddha from within the unconditioned, nor is he born following the Buddha from within the suchness of the unconditioned; he is not born following the Buddha apart from the unconditioned, nor is he born following the Buddha apart from the suchness of the unconditioned. Why? Because all these dharmas are without anything existent and unfindable; there is no one born following, and no dharma of being born following.’

At that time Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This suchness is real and not false; the mark of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, and the position of dharmas are very deep; within it form is unfindable, and the suchness of form is also unfindable. Why? Form itself is unfindable—how much less could the suchness of form be found! Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are unfindable, and the suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is also unfindable. Why? Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are themselves unfindable—how much less could the suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness be found! And so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds is unfindable, and the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds is also unfindable. Why? The omniscience of all kinds is itself unfindable—how much less could the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds be found!’

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘Just so! Just so! Śāriputra! This suchness is real and not false; the mark of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, and the position of dharmas are very deep; within it form is unfindable, and the suchness of form is also unfindable. Why? Form itself is unfindable—how much less could the suchness of form be found! And so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds is unfindable, and the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds is also unfindable. Why? The omniscience of all kinds is itself unfindable—how much less could the suchness of the omniscience of all kinds be found!’

When Śāriputra expounded this mark of suchness, two hundred bhikṣus, because they did not receive any dharma, exhausted their outflows and attained arhatship; five hundred bhikṣuṇīs, far removed from dust and free of defilement, obtained within all dharmas the purity of the Dharma-eye, and were born among gods and humans; five thousand bodhisattva-mahāsattvas obtained the acceptance of non-arising; six thousand bodhisattvas, because they did not receive any dharma, exhausted their outflows, their minds attained liberation, and they became arhats.

‘Śāriputra! These six thousand bodhisattvas in former lives met five hundred buddhas, drew near to them and made offerings, and within the Dharma of the five hundred buddhas practised giving, morality, patience, vigour, and meditation; because they were without prajñāpāramitā and without the power of skilful means, what they practised was the mark of difference; they had this thought: this is giving, this is morality, this is patience, this is vigour, this is meditation. Because they were without prajñāpāramitā and without the power of skilful means, in giving, morality, patience, vigour, and meditation they all practised the mark of difference; because they practised the mark of difference, they did not obtain the mark of no difference; because they did not obtain the mark of no difference, they could not enter the bodhisattva's position; because they could not enter the bodhisattva's position, they obtained the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of arhatship. Śāriputra! Although the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has the dharmas of the path—whether the dharma of emptiness, or of the signless, or of non-action—because he strays far from prajñāpāramitā and is without the power of skilful means, he takes realisation at the limit of reality and takes the śrāvaka vehicle.’

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the cause and condition whereby, alike practising the dharmas of emptiness, the signless, and non-action, one, because he strays far from the power of skilful means, takes realisation at the limit of reality and takes the śrāvaka vehicle; while the bodhisattva-mahāsattva also cultivates the dharmas of emptiness, the signless, and non-action, and because he has the power of skilful means obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘There are bodhisattvas who have strayed far from the mind of sarvajñā and cultivate the dharmas of emptiness, the signless, and non-action; because they are without the power of skilful means, they take the śrāvaka vehicle. Śāriputra! Again, there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who do not stray far from the mind of sarvajñā and cultivate the dharmas of emptiness, the signless, and non-action; because they have the power of skilful means, they enter the bodhisattva's position and obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Śāriputra! It is like a bird whose body is a hundred yojana long, or two hundred or three hundred yojana, and which has no wings, and which throws itself down from the Heaven of the Thirty-three toward Jambudvīpa. Śāriputra! What do you think? If midway this bird has this thought—wishing to go back up to the Heaven of the Thirty-three—can it get back?’

‘It cannot get back! World-Honored One!’

‘Śāriputra! This bird then makes this wish—on reaching Jambudvīpa, to have its body be without pain and without vexation. Śāriputra! What do you think? Can this bird be without pain and without vexation?’

Śāriputra said: ‘It cannot! World-Honored One! When this bird reaches the ground, it will either be in pain, or be vexed, or die, or suffer a pain equal to death. Why? World-Honored One! Because this bird's body is great and it has no wings.’

‘Śāriputra! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: although for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges he cultivates giving, morality, patience, vigour, and meditation, sets about a great matter, gives rise to a great mind, and takes on immeasurable vows in order to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, this bodhisattva, because he strays far from prajñāpāramitā and strays far from the power of skilful means, falls either to arhatship or to the path of the pratyekabuddha. Why? Because this bodhisattva, having strayed far from the mind of sarvajñā, gives, keeps morality, is patient, is vigorous, and meditates; because he is without prajñāpāramitā and without the power of skilful means, he falls into the śrāvaka ground or into the path of the pratyekabuddha. Śāriputra! Although the bodhisattva-mahāsattva recollects the morality, meditation, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation of the buddhas of the past, future, and present, he receives and upholds them by grasping at marks; this person neither knows nor understands the morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation of the buddhas, but only hears the names and sounds of emptiness, the signless, and non-action, and takes these names and sounds and dedicates them to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way, he abides within the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha and cannot pass beyond them. Why? Because he strays far from prajñāpāramitā and the power of skilful means, and yet takes his roots of goodness and dedicates them to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Śāriputra! There are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who from the first arousing of intent onward do not stray far from the mind of sarvajñā, and cultivate giving, morality, patience, vigour, and meditation; because they do not stray far from prajñāpāramitā and the power of skilful means, they do not grasp at marks; with regard to the morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation of the buddhas of the past, future, and present, they do not grasp at the mark of the gate of liberation of emptiness, and do not grasp at the mark of the gates of liberation of the signless and of non-action. Śāriputra! Know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not fall to the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, but goes straight on to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, from the first arousing of the mind onward, cultivates giving without grasping at marks, and morality, patience, vigour, and meditation without grasping at marks; with regard to the morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation of the buddhas of the past, future, and present, he also does not grasp at marks.

‘Śāriputra! This is called the bodhisattva's power of skilful means: with a mind free of marks he cultivates giving, morality, patience, vigour, and meditation, and so on up to: with a mind free of marks he cultivates the omniscience of all kinds.’

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! As I understand the meaning of what the Buddha has said, if a bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not stray far from prajñāpāramitā and the power of skilful means, know that this bodhisattva is near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, from the first arousing of the mind onward, has no dharma to be known—whether form, or feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds. World-Honored One! If there are good men and good women seeking the bodhisattva path who stray far from prajñāpāramitā and the power of skilful means, know that such a person, with regard to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, may obtain it or may not obtain it. Why? World-Honored One! Because all the giving of these good men and good women seeking the bodhisattva path grasps at marks, and all their morality, patience, vigour, and meditation grasp at marks. For this reason these good men and good women are unassured with regard to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. World-Honored One! Because of this cause and condition, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi should not stray far from prajñāpāramitā and the power of skilful means. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in prajñāpāramitā and the power of skilful means, should cultivate giving, morality, patience, vigour, and meditation with a mind without obtaining and without marks; and so on up to: he should cultivate the omniscience of all kinds with a mind without obtaining and without marks.’

Treatise ②: What the Gods Meant, and Subhūti Cutting Off Their Esteem; Four Ways of Breaking the Mind That Clings to Suchness; Distinguishing Form and the Other Dharmas from the Suchness of Form and the Other Dharmas; the Causes and Conditions of the Six Thousand Becoming Arhats, and the Simile of Carrying Vessels to the Sea; Not Obtaining the Dharma of Non-discrimination Belongs to Five Hundred Past Lives; the Judgement of Why, Practising the Three Gates of Liberation Alike, One Becomes a Buddha and One an Arhat; the Story of the Golden-winged Bird, and the Clause-by-Clause Matching of the Simile of the Great Bird; the Buddha's Own Concluding Sentence

The treatise-author explains:

As for the gods rejoicing, scattering sandalwood powder over the Buddha and Subhūti, and praising, saying that it is rare, World-Honored One, and that Subhūti is born following the Buddha by way of the suchness of the Tathāgata—what the gods meant is this: because of the power of his wisdom Subhūti can make all dharmas into the Buddha's Dharma, and therefore they say he is born following the Buddha.

Subhūti knew that in their minds the gods still somewhat prized and esteemed this suchness of dharmas; therefore, in order to cut off this mind in the gods, Subhūti said that this suchness is the mark of ultimate emptiness. He used four ways of speaking to break the mind that clings to suchness, that is to say: Subhūti is not within form, not within the suchness of form; not by way of form and the rest, not by way of the suchness of form and the rest; not apart from form and the rest, not apart from the suchness of form and the rest—that he is born following the Buddha.

Here the Buddha himself stated the causes and conditions: these dharmas are all empty and unfindable.

Śāriputra said: World-Honored One! This suchness is very deep! Within this suchness even form and the other dharmas are unfindable—how much less could the suchness of form and the other dharmas be found!

Someone asks:

What are form and the other dharmas? What is the suchness of form and the other dharmas?

The answer:

Form and the other dharmas are the dharmas that are seen by the eye and so on; suchness is the real mark of form and the other dharmas, not false and deceptive.

Because people misrecognise and misunderstand within form and the other dharmas and suchness, either they give rise to unwholesome deeds and fall into the evil destinies, or they give rise to wholesome deeds and are born among humans and gods, yet in the end return to being ground away, and again give rise to all kinds of suffering. Or they give rise to deeds without outflows, and though they ought to seek the great benefit they take the Small Vehicle, because they do not obtain the ultimately pure mark of suchness.

Form and the other dharmas are all made dharmas, conditioned, false, born from inversion, the domain in which the recollection, imagining, and discrimination of ordinary people move; therefore form and the other dharmas are false and are not themselves suchness. Knowing form and the other dharmas as they really are is precisely suchness; it is because of form and the other dharmas that suchness gets its name; therefore it is said that suchness is obtained not apart from form and the other dharmas.

Form and the other dharmas, having entered into suchness, are all of one mark without difference; therefore Subhūti said with humility: it is not only I who am born following the Buddha; all dharmas too are of this mark.

Śāriputra praised what Subhūti had said: form and the other dharmas are themselves ultimately empty—how much more their suchness! If the cause is empty, how much more the fruit!

Hearing such a very deep mark of suchness, beings each obtained the benefit of the path.

Someone asks:

This prajñāpāramitā is expounded for bodhisattvas; why then did six thousand people attain the path of the arhat?

The answer:

The Buddha knew that someone would certainly raise this objection, and himself stated the causes and conditions for Śāriputra: these people were without prajñāpāramitā and without the power of skilful means. In the past they made merit, but because they were without skilful means, their practice was wrong and not right; because these people had left prajñāpāramitā, they clung deeply to wholesome dharmas; now, hearing prajñāpāramitā from the Buddha, they deeply wearied of and left the world, and because their mind of kindness and compassion was thin they sought only their own benefit, did not receive any dharma, and so attained arhatship—this is no fault on the part of prajñā. It is as when people carry vessels to the sea: each according to the size of his vessel takes his fill.

Someone asks:

As the sūtra says, the six thousand bodhisattvas, because they were without prajñāpāramitā and without the power of skilful means, cultivated the five perfections, did not obtain this dharma of non-discrimination, and became arhats. If all the noble ones obtain the unconditioned dharma, and obtaining the unconditioned dharma is precisely non-discrimination, why does it say here that they did not obtain the dharma of non-discrimination and became arhats?

The answer:

This does not speak of the time of hearing the Dharma in this life; rather it speaks of the time of five hundred past lives, when they did not obtain prajñā and skilful means and only cultivated and gathered the merit of the five perfections; for this reason it says they did not obtain non-discrimination. They lost the bodhisattva's five faculties, faith and the rest; because they lost the bodhisattva's five faculties, faith and the rest, although they heard prajñā, they could not hear it as bodhisattvas hear it, and at once took realisation at the limit of reality.

Someone asks:

Alike practising emptiness, the signless, and non-action, why does one person get to become a Buddha, while one becomes an arhat?

The answer:

Although there are causes and conditions of many kinds, the great cause and condition of attaining arhatship is this—practising emptiness and the rest with a mind that has left sarvajñā.

As for the great bird: the golden-winged bird in the heavens is no different from the sparrows and other birds of the human world here. The reason this bird does not come here is that this bird eats nāgas, and its wings give off a poisonous wind that would fan all people's eyes blind. When this bird has just come out of the shell, its wings are not yet grown; it wishes in its mind to fly off, and at once it falls; midway it regrets in its mind: I ought not yet to fly. It wishes to go back and dwell in its own heaven, up in the śālmalī tree; but this bird's body is great, its wings are not yet grown, and it cannot lift its body.

What is called the bird's body is the bodhisattva's body. What is called great is the merit of the five perfections gathered broadly life after life. What is called without two wings is being without prajñāpāramitā and without skilful means. What is called Mount Sumeru is the three realms. What is called space is the immeasurable dharmas of the Buddha. What is called flying when it ought not yet to fly is that the bodhisattva's merit is not yet complete, and he wishes to practise the bodhisattva's three gates of liberation and wishes to roam in the space of the immeasurable dharmas of the Buddha, and he himself retrogresses and sinks; though this mind wishes and vows to become a Buddha, it cannot attain it. What is called or die is the path of the arhat; what is called equal to death is the path of the pratyekabuddha. What is called either in pain or vexed is losing the merit of the bodhisattva's original vow.

The Buddha himself made the concluding sentence: and so on up to abiding in this mind without obtaining and without marks, one should give and so on. Where this sūtra matches the simile, the meaning is clear of itself, and so it is not explained again.

Sūtra ③: The Gods Say Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi Is Hard to Obtain; the Buddha Is Himself the Proof—Obtaining Is Also Nothing to Be Attained

At that time the gods of the desire realm and the form realm said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is hard to obtain! Why? This bodhisattva-mahāsattva must know all dharmas to the end, and only then obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and this dharma too is unfindable.’

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! Gods! Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is hard to obtain! I too obtained all dharmas and the omniscience of all kinds, and only then obtained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and yet it is also nothing to be attained—there is no one who knows, nothing that can be known, and also no knower. Why? Because all dharmas are ultimately pure.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Subhūti Says Awakening Is Easy to Obtain—No One Who Obtains and No Dharma That Can Be Obtained; the Marks of All Dharmas Are All Empty

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! As the Buddha has said, anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is hard to obtain. Yet according to the meaning of what the Buddha says as I understand it, I reflect thus in my mind: this anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is easy to obtain. Why? There is no one who obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and also no dharma that can be obtained. All dharmas and the marks of all dharmas are empty; there is no dharma that can be obtained, and no one who can obtain. Why? Because all dharmas are empty. There is also no dharma that can be increased, and also no dharma that can be decreased. That is, giving, keeping the precepts, patience, vigour, meditation, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds—of these dharmas there is nothing that can be obtained and no one who can obtain. World-Honored One! Because of this cause and condition, I hold in my mind that anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is easy to obtain. Why? World-Honored One! Form—the mark of form is empty; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—the mark of consciousness is empty; and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds—the mark of the omniscience of all kinds is empty.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Śāriputra Raises a Difficulty—Space Does Not Think This; Why Do Bodhisattvas as Many as the Sands of the Ganges Retrogress and Turn Back?

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘If all dharmas are empty just as space is, space does not give rise to such a thought—“I should obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.” If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva believes in and understands that all dharmas are empty like space, and this anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is therefore easy to obtain, then why is it that now bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the sands of the Ganges seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and retrogress and turn back? Subhūti! For this reason it can be known that anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is not easy to obtain.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): The First Round of Questioning—Do Form and So On up to the Omniscience of All Kinds Retrogress and Turn Back from Awakening?

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘What do you think? Does form retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Do feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘And so on up to: does the omniscience of all kinds retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): The Second Round of Questioning—Apart from Form and So On up to Apart from the Omniscience of All Kinds, Is There Another Dharma That Retrogresses and Turns Back?

‘Apart from form, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Apart from feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘And so on up to: apart from the omniscience of all kinds, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): The Third Round of Questioning—Do the Mark of Suchness of Form and So On up to the Mark of Suchness of the Omniscience of All Kinds Retrogress and Turn Back from Awakening?

‘Śāriputra! What do you think? Does the mark of suchness of form retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Do the mark of suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the mark of suchness of the omniscience of all kinds, retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): The Fourth Round of Questioning—Apart from the Mark of Suchness of Form and So On up to Apart from the Mark of Suchness of the Omniscience of All Kinds, Is There Another Dharma That Retrogresses and Turns Back?

‘Apart from the mark of suchness of form, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Apart from the mark of suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to apart from the mark of suchness of the omniscience of all kinds, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Do Suchness and the Nature of Dharmas, the Abiding of Dharmas, the Position of Dharmas, the Limit of Reality, and the Nature of the Inconceivable Retrogress and Turn Back from Awakening?

‘Śāriputra! What do you think? Does suchness retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Do the nature of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the position of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Śāriputra! What do you think? Apart from suchness, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

‘Apart from the nature of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the position of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the nature of the inconceivable, is there another dharma that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said: ‘No.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Since All Is Ultimately Unfindable, What Dharma Retrogresses and Turns Back? Śāriputra Raises the Difficulty of the Three Vehicles

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘If all dharmas are ultimately unfindable, then which dharma is it that retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘As Subhūti says, within this acceptance of dharmas there is no bodhisattva who retrogresses and turns back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. If there is no retrogressing and turning back, then the Buddha has said that those who seek the path are of three kinds: the path of the arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, and the path of the Buddha; these three then become without any distinction. According to what Subhūti says, there would be only a single bodhisattva seeking the path of the Buddha!’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Pūrṇa Has Him Ask about a Single Bodhisattva Vehicle; within Suchness No Three Vehicles Can Be Set Up

Then Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra said to Śāriputra: ‘You should go and ask Subhūti whether there is one bodhisattva vehicle.’

At that time Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘Subhūti! Do you mean to say that there is one bodhisattva vehicle?’

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘Within the suchness of all dharmas, do you wish there to be people of three vehicles—the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle?’

Śāriputra said: ‘I do not.’

‘Śāriputra! Within the distinction of the three vehicles, is there any suchness that can be obtained?’

Śāriputra said: ‘There is not.’

‘Śāriputra! Does this suchness have one mark, or two marks, or three marks?’

Śāriputra said: ‘It does not.’

‘Śāriputra! Do you wish there to be within suchness even so much as one bodhisattva?’

Śāriputra said: ‘I do not.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Within These Four the People of the Three Vehicles Are Unfindable; Hearing the Mark of Suchness, the Mind Is Not Startled, Does Not Sink, Has No Regret, and Has No Doubt

‘Within these four, the people of the three vehicles are all unfindable. Śāriputra! How then can one give rise to such a thought—“this is a person seeking the śrāvaka vehicle, this is a person seeking the pratyekabuddha vehicle, this is a person seeking the Buddha vehicle”? Śāriputra! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears this mark of suchness of all dharmas and his mind is not startled, does not sink, has no regret, and has no doubt, this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who is able to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): The Buddha Praises Him as Excellent; Śāriputra Asks What Awakening Is Accomplished

At that time the Buddha praised Subhūti, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! Subhūti! What you have said is all the Buddha's power. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears it said that within this suchness there is no difference among dharmas, and his mind is not startled, is not terrified, is not afraid, does not find it hard, does not sink, and has no regret, know that this bodhisattva is able to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What kind of awakening is it that he accomplishes?’

The Buddha said: ‘He accomplishes the Buddha's anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Treatise ③: The Treatise-Author Explains Following the Text—the Gods Think and Say It Is Hard to Obtain; the Buddha Is Himself the Proof

The treatise-author explains:

At that time the gods gave rise to this thought and said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is hard to obtain! Why? All dharmas are ultimately empty, and yet the bodhisattva seeks the path of the Buddha, contemplates, practises, cultivates, and gathers, becomes a Buddha and delivers beings; and this dharma too is unfindable.’

The Buddha approved their words, and made himself the proof: ‘I sat at the seat of awakening and by all kinds obtained all dharmas, and yet there was not a single fixed mark that could be obtained.’

Treatise ③ (continued): Subhūti Says It Is Easy to Obtain; Śāriputra Takes Retrogressing and Turning Back as a Difficulty

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! In my view anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is easy to obtain. Because all dharmas are ultimately and constantly empty, within this there is no one who can obtain and no dharma that can be obtained; because there is no hindrance and no obstruction, nothing to practise, and nothing to sever.’

At that time Śāriputra said: ‘If the path of the Buddha is easy to obtain, why is it that of immeasurable bodhisattvas as many as the sands of the Ganges seeking the path of the Buddha, only one or two have become buddhas, and all the rest have retrogressed and turned back?’

Treatise ③ (continued): Subhūti Questions Him Back in Four Rounds; the Treatise-Author Explains the Reason for Each Round

Subhūti answered Śāriputra: ‘Does form retrogress and turn back from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi? Do feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, retrogress and turn back?’

The answer: ‘No!’ Why? Because form and the other dharmas are ultimately empty, and there is no retrogressing and turning back.

The suchness of form and the other dharmas has no two marks, and also no discrimination; therefore there is no retrogressing and turning back.

‘Apart from form and the other dharmas, is there some other dharma that retrogresses and turns back?’

The answer: apart from form and the rest there is no other dharma; therefore he says ‘No.’

‘Apart from the suchness of form and the other dharmas, is there some other dharma that retrogresses and turns back?’

The answer: just as, once form and the other dharmas have been broken, suchness too is itself empty; therefore he says ‘No.’

The nature of dharmas, the position of dharmas, and so on up to the nature of the inconceivable are also like this.

Treatise ③ (continued): The Meaning of the Acceptance of Dharmas; Śāriputra Himself Cites the Buddha's Dharma to Raise a Difficulty

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘If dharmas do not retrogress and turn back, why is it said that bodhisattvas as many as the sands of the Ganges retrogress and turn back?’

Śāriputra answered: ‘According to what Subhūti says, within the acceptance of dharmas there is no retrogressing and turning back.’ ‘Acceptance of dharmas’ is the gate of the Dharma, the practice of the Dharma, the conduct of the Dharma. Entering within this gate of the Dharma of which Subhūti speaks, there is no retrogressing and turning back; coming out of this gate of the Dharma, there is retrogressing and turning back.

Although Śāriputra at once accepted Subhūti's words, he nevertheless himself cited the Buddha's Dharma to raise a difficulty: ‘If there is no retrogressing and turning back, then all should become buddhas; why then is it said that there are three vehicles?’

Subhūti then again used the four statements on the mark of suchness to break the three vehicles.

The Buddha praised Subhūti: ‘Excellent! If the bodhisattva hears that within suchness there is no distinction of the three vehicles, and is not frightened, this bodhisattva is able to accomplish the unsurpassed path.’

Treatise ③ (continued): He Asks What Awakening Is Accomplished—Each Has Its Own Unsurpassed; the Great Vehicle Is the Unsurpassed

Question:

If the Buddha says ‘the bodhisattva accomplishes anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi’, why does Śāriputra still ask ‘what awakening does he accomplish’?

Answer:

Each has its own unsurpassed; because Śāriputra held a doubt in his mind, he asked: ‘Which path is the unsurpassed?’ The treatise-author answers: ‘The Great Vehicle is the unsurpassed.’

Furthermore, Subhūti, by the wisdom of ultimate emptiness, breaks the mind that clings to the three vehicles; therefore the Buddha praises him: ‘Excellent!’

Subhūti says: ‘If the bodhisattva hears this and his mind does not sink and is not terrified, he is able to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Śāriputra asks: ‘The awakening of the three vehicles has no fixed mark; now it is said that he accomplishes awakening—what kind of awakening, after all, is it that he accomplishes?’

The Buddha says: ‘He accomplishes the Buddha's anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

If one enters the gate of ultimate emptiness, all dharmas are wholly of one mark; if one comes out of ultimate emptiness, the three vehicles then differ. Now it is because of discriminating dharmas that the Buddha speaks of there being a higher, a middle, and a lower vehicle; it is not spoken because of ultimate emptiness.

Sūtra ④: Subhūti Asks How One Should Practise; the Buddha Answers with the Seven Kinds of Mind and the Four Ways of the Ten Wholesome Paths

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, how should he practise?’

The Buddha said: ‘He should arouse an equal mind, and speak to all beings too with an equal mind, without partiality; he should arouse a mind of great kindness toward all beings, and speak to them too with a mind of great kindness; he should hold a lowly intent toward all beings, and speak to them too with a lowly intent; he should arouse a mind of safety toward all beings, and speak to them too with a mind of safety; he should arouse an unobstructed mind toward all beings, and speak to them too with an unobstructed mind; he should arouse a mind without vexation toward all beings, and speak to them too with a mind without vexation; he should arouse a mind of love and respect toward all beings, as toward a father, as toward a mother, as toward an elder brother, as toward a younger brother, as toward an elder sister, as toward a younger sister, as toward a son, as toward kin and acquaintances, and speak to them too with a mind of love and respect. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva should also himself not kill living beings, also teach others not to kill living beings, praise the dharma of not killing living beings, and rejoice in and praise those who do not kill living beings; and so on up to: himself practise no wrong view, also teach others not to practise wrong view, praise the dharma of no wrong view, and rejoice in and praise those who have no wrong view. Just so, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should practise in this way.

Sūtra ④ (continued): The Four Dhyānas

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should himself practise the first dhyāna, also teach others to practise the first dhyāna, praise the dharma of practising the first dhyāna, and rejoice in and praise those who practise the first dhyāna; the second dhyāna, the third dhyāna, and the fourth dhyāna are also like this.

Sūtra ④ (continued): The Four Immeasurable Minds, the Sphere of Boundless Space and So On up to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception, and the Six Perfections

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should himself practise the mind of kindness, also teach others to practise the mind of kindness, praise the dharma of practising the mind of kindness, and rejoice in and praise those who practise the mind of kindness; the minds of compassion, joy, and equanimity are also like this. He himself practises the sphere of boundless space, also teaches others to practise the sphere of boundless space, praises the dharma of practising the sphere of boundless space, and rejoices in and praises those who practise the sphere of boundless space; the sphere of boundless consciousness, the sphere of nothing whatsoever, and the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception are also like this. He himself fulfils dānapāramitā, also teaches others to fulfil dānapāramitā, praises the dharma of fulfilling dānapāramitā, and rejoices in and praises those who fulfil dānapāramitā; śīla, kṣānti, vīrya, dhyāna, and prajñāpāramitā are also like this.

Sūtra ④ (continued): 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 eightfold noble path; the Emptiness, Signless, and Non-action Samādhi; the Eight Liberations; the Nine Successive Absorptions; the Ten Powers and So On up to Great Kindness and Great Compassion; the Twelve Links of Causes and Conditions

‘Furthermore, if the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he himself practises inner emptiness, also teaches others to practise inner emptiness, praises the dharma of practising inner emptiness, and rejoices in and praises those who practise inner emptiness; and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, which is also like this. He himself practises the four foundations of mindfulness, also teaches others to practise the four foundations of mindfulness, praises the dharma of practising the four foundations of mindfulness, and rejoices in and praises those who practise the four foundations of mindfulness; and so on up to the eightfold noble path, which are also like this. He himself cultivates the emptiness samādhi, the signless samādhi, and the non-action samādhi, also teaches others to cultivate the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhi, praises the dharma of cultivating the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhi, and rejoices in and praises those who cultivate the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhi. He himself practises the eight liberations, also teaches others to practise the eight liberations, praises the dharma of practising the eight liberations, and rejoices in and praises those who practise the eight liberations. He himself practises the nine successive absorptions, also teaches others to practise the nine successive absorptions, praises the dharma of practising the nine successive absorptions, and rejoices in and praises those who practise the nine successive absorptions. He himself fulfils the ten powers of the Buddha, also teaches others to fulfil the ten powers of the Buddha, praises the dharma of fulfilling the ten powers of the Buddha, and rejoices in and praises those who fulfil the ten powers of the Buddha; he himself practises the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, the eighteen unshared dharmas, and great kindness and great compassion, also teaches others to practise the four fearlessnesses and so on up to great kindness and great compassion, praises the dharma of practising the four fearlessnesses and so on up to great kindness and great compassion, and rejoices in and praises those who practise the four fearlessnesses and so on up to great kindness and great compassion. He himself contemplates the twelve links of causes and conditions in reverse and forward order, also teaches others to contemplate the twelve links of causes and conditions in reverse and forward order, praises the dharma of contemplating the twelve links of causes and conditions in reverse and forward order, and rejoices in and praises those who contemplate the twelve links of causes and conditions in reverse and forward order. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should practise in this way!

Sūtra ④ (continued): Knowing Suffering, Severing Its Origin, Realising Cessation, Cultivating the Path; the Fruit of the Srota-āpanna and So On up to the Fruit of the Arhat; the Path of the Pratyekabuddha; the Bodhisattva's Position; Purifying Buddha-worlds and Bringing Beings to Accomplishment; the Supernormal Powers; the Omniscience of All Kinds; Severing the Fetters and Their Habitual Residues

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should himself know suffering, sever its origin, realise cessation, and cultivate the path, also teach others to know suffering, sever its origin, realise cessation, and cultivate the path, praise the dharma of knowing suffering, severing its origin, realising cessation, and cultivating the path, and rejoice in and praise those who know suffering, sever its origin, realise cessation, and cultivate the path. He himself gives rise to the knowledge that realises the fruit of the srota-āpanna yet does not take realisation of the limit of reality, also teaches others to settle within the fruit of the srota-āpanna, praises the dharma of the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and rejoices in and praises those who have obtained the fruit of the srota-āpanna; the fruit of the sakṛdāgāmin, the fruit of the anāgāmin, and the fruit of the arhat are also like this. He himself gives rise to the knowledge that realises the path of the pratyekabuddha yet does not take realisation of the path of the pratyekabuddha, also teaches others to settle within the path of the pratyekabuddha, praises the dharma of the path of the pratyekabuddha, and rejoices in and praises those who have obtained the path of the pratyekabuddha. He himself enters the bodhisattva's position, also teaches others to enter the bodhisattva's position, praises the dharma of entering the bodhisattva's position, and rejoices in and praises those who enter the bodhisattva's position. He himself purifies buddha-worlds and brings beings to accomplishment, also teaches others to purify buddha-worlds and bring beings to accomplishment, praises the dharma of purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, and rejoices in and praises those who purify buddha-worlds and bring beings to accomplishment. He himself gives rise to the supernormal powers of the bodhisattva, also teaches others to give rise to the supernormal powers of the bodhisattva, praises the dharma of giving rise to the supernormal powers of the bodhisattva, and rejoices in and praises those who give rise to the supernormal powers of the bodhisattva. He himself gives birth to the omniscience of all kinds, also teaches others to give birth to the omniscience of all kinds, praises the dharma of giving birth to the omniscience of all kinds, and rejoices in and praises those who give birth to the omniscience of all kinds. He himself severs the habitual residues of all the fetters, also teaches others to sever the habitual residues of all the fetters, praises the dharma of severing the habitual residues of all the fetters, and rejoices in and praises those who sever the habitual residues of all the fetters. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should practise in this way!

Sūtra ④ (continued): The Accomplishment of Life-span and the Accomplishment of the Abiding of the Dharma; Training in the Power of Skilful Means of Prajñā and Obtaining the Unobstructed—from the Beginning Not Receiving

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he himself takes up the accomplishment of life-span, also teaches others to take up the accomplishment of life-span, praises the dharma of taking up the accomplishment of life-span, and rejoices in and praises those who take up the accomplishment of life-span. He himself accomplishes the abiding of the Dharma, also teaches others to accomplish the abiding of the Dharma, praises the dharma of accomplishing the abiding of the Dharma, and rejoices in and praises those who accomplish the abiding of the Dharma. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to accomplish anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he should practise in this way, and should also in this way train in the power of skilful means of prajñāpāramitā! When this bodhisattva trains in this way and practises in this way, he will obtain unobstructed form, obtain unobstructed feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to obtain the unobstructed abiding of the Dharma. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva from the beginning has not received form, has not received feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to has not received the omniscience of all kinds. Why? Because form, if not received, is not form, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, if not received, is not the omniscience of all kinds.’

When this chapter on the practice of the bodhisattva was expounded, two thousand bodhisattvas obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

Treatise ④: The Treatise-Author Explains Following the Text—Subhūti Asks How One Should Practise; the Buddha Answers: Arouse an Equal Mind

The treatise-author explains:

Subhūti asked: ‘One who wishes to accomplish the unsurpassed path—how should he practise?’

The Buddha answered: ‘He should arouse an equal mind, without partiality toward all beings.’

Treatise ④ (continued): The Equal Mind, First—Enemies, Kin, and Those in Between: toward All Three Parts Hold the Thought of Closeness and Love

The five aggregates come together, and this is provisionally named a being, like a cart, like a forest. What is called all beings means taking up in full the six destinies of the ten directions, with nothing left out. The constant way of all beings is that each goes by three parts: enemies, kin, and those in between. The Buddha now teaches the bodhisattva to arouse an equal mind, holding toward all beings the thought of closeness and love—not giving rise to a hostile mind, and also not giving rise to the mind toward those in between.

Treatise ④ (continued): The Equal Mind, Second—Leaving the Two Minds of Hatred and Love, Turning the Way of the World into a Mind of Kindly Love

Furthermore, beings are of two kinds: love and hatred. The Buddha says: ‘Toward all beings leave these two minds; do not give rise to hatred, do not give rise to love.’ Love here is craving; it is a mind of affliction and should not be practised; what should be practised is the mind of kindly love. The way of the world is to love and cherish wife and children, oxen and horses, and the like, and to hate enemies, thieves, and the like. The bodhisattva turns this way of the world around, and treats all beings only with the mind of kindly love.

Treatise ④ (continued): The Equal Mind, Third—People of Six Grades, Three Evil and Three Good; the Bodhisattva Practises the Sixth Mind

Furthermore, the ‘equal mind’ is this: the bodhisattva gives rise to the joy of the Dharma, and toward all beings wishes to bring them all to the path of the Buddha; the bodhisattva himself lets go of the mind of hatred and love, and also lets go of the hatred and love that beings direct upon him. In the world there are three kinds of people: the evil, the greatly evil, and the evil within evil; the good, the greatly good, and the good within good. The evil: as when someone inflicts an evil thing on oneself, and one repays him with an evil thing. The dharma of the buddhas is an equal mind toward all beings; one should not give rise to an evil thought, how much less to deeds of body or deeds of speech! The greatly evil: as when no one has wronged oneself, yet one inflicts evil on another. The evil within evil: as when someone provides for oneself with a good mind and keeps one in kindly thought, and one turns round and harms him with an evil mind; evil of this sort is called evil within evil. The good: as when someone treats oneself with a good thing, and one repays him with good. The greatly good: as when someone has shown oneself no kindness or goodness, and still one benefits him with a good thing. The good within good: as when someone inflicts an evil thing on oneself, and oneself makes offerings to him with good things, even to one's own body and life; this is called good within good. The bodhisattva lets go of these three kinds of evil, passes beyond those two kinds of good, and toward all beings practises the sixth kind of mind.

Treatise ④ (continued): He Asks How One Who Has Not Yet Obtained the Dharma Body Can Practise This; the Answer: the Unsurpassed Path Requires Practising the Unsurpassed Dharma

Question:

This bodhisattva has not yet obtained the Dharma body; how can he practise such a mind?

Answer:

This bodhisattva seeks the unsurpassed path, and so he should practise the unsurpassed dharma, and undergo such ascetic practices hard to practise; only then does he accomplish the unsurpassed path. It is like a merchant who, on a dangerous road, undergoes every hardship, and only then obtains great profit.

Furthermore, this bodhisattva has heard the proper substance of the Buddha's Dharma—that is, ultimate emptiness, without self and without what belongs to self, with not a single fixed real dharma; what is seen, what is heard, and what is known are all false and deceptive, like an illusion, like a dream; because he deeply believes this Dharma, he is able to make offerings of his body and life to enemies and thieves.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva knows that this body is born from the causes and conditions of sinful deeds, afflictions, and inversion; what is seen and what is heard are all false and deceptive, and it is the root of the defilement of sin. If someone comes wishing to harm me, I ought precisely to receive it gladly; by means of this wretched, evil body I obtain the great profit of the unsurpassed path—why would I not give it!

Furthermore, when the bodhisattva arouses the mind, he deeply loves beings, and for the sake of benefiting them he himself makes offerings of his own body to enemies and thieves, wishing to have beings follow the example of what he himself practises; because some beings are not necessarily willing to accept one who teaches by words, he uses the teaching of the body to make them believe and accept.

Furthermore, there are many people whose mouths say they seek the unsurpassed path while the practice of their bodies does not match it; for this reason too the bodhisattva teaches them with his body, to make them firm of mind in practising this hard thing. One who wishes to seek the unsurpassed path should practise the dharma of the good within good and do this hard thing; only then can it be obtained.

By immeasurable causes and conditions such as these, he himself makes offerings of his body and life to enemies and thieves.

Treatise ④ (continued): He Asks How the Equal Mind Differs from the Mind of Kindness; Three Explanations Given Together, and Also Why the Mind of Compassion Is Not Spoken Of

Question:

What difference is there between the equal mind and the mind of kindness?

Answer:

The equal mind is the four immeasurable minds; the mind of kindness is only one immeasurable among them.

Someone says: first letting go of the distinction between enemy and kin is the equal mind; afterwards adding pity and concern is the mind of kindness.

Furthermore, someone says: the equal mind is contemplating beings as being like suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of dharmas; because these dharmas are all unconditioned and immeasurable, it is called ‘equal’; loving and keeping beings in thought—only this is called the mind of kindness.

The reason the mind of compassion is not spoken of is that the mind of compassion at times grieves over beings, and when this mind accumulates, the mind retreats and sinks. Or again there are beings who do not like the bodhisattva's compassionate concern, and say: ‘Why do you not grieve over your own self, instead of thinking of others?’ The mind of kindness has no such thing, and because it easily gathers in beings, only the mind of kindness is spoken of.

Treatise ④ (continued): He Asks: the Bodhisattva Is a Great Person—Why Does He Arouse a Lowly Intent among Beings?

Question:

If beings are of three kinds—higher, middle, and lower—the bodhisattva, because he has gathered merit and wisdom, should be a great person; why is it said that ‘he should hold a lowly intent toward all beings’?

Answer:

The bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: ‘All dharmas are impermanent, and all beings, high, middle, and low, return alike to being ground away; within this, who is great? Who is small? People have great and small only according to the way of the world.’

Furthermore, great and small are not fixed: what this country takes as great, another country takes as small; great in this place, small in that place; as one who is low and mean in this life becomes a heavenly king in a later life. Such causes and conditions of karma turn round and round in the world without stopping, and high and low, great and small, are all without fixity. It is like water and fire, whose value rises and falls with the season; taking them up and setting them aside have no fixed standard.

Furthermore, although the bodhisattva has merit, he knows that this merit is ultimately empty, like an illusion, like a dream; he does not cling to this merit, and so there is none of this distinction of great and small.

Furthermore, among all beings, which of them have the causes and conditions of the path of the Buddha only the Buddha can know. The bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: ‘If I belittle a being because of his form and appearance or his ability—because of such things—then I am belittling a future Buddha; if one belittles a Buddha, one is cut off forever.’

Furthermore, the bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: ‘I have vowed to deliver all beings; if I give nothing at all to beings, I fail beings.’ It is like a host who invites guests: he should honour the guests and place himself low; if he has set out nothing at all, then he is ashamed before his guests.

Furthermore, because of a mind that exalts itself, hatred easily arises; pride is the root of hatred, and hatred is the root of all grave sins. If the bodhisattva arouses a lowly mind toward beings, then even if beings scold him or beat him, he has no resentment; it is like a master who beats a slave: the slave dares not hate. If the bodhisattva exalts himself and looks down on beings, then as soon as a being wrongs him, he flares up in anger; it is like a slave who beats the master: the master rises in hatred and anger. The lowly intent has benefits of these many kinds; therefore the bodhisattva should practise it.

Treatise ④ (continued): The Mind of Safety, the Unobstructed Mind, the Mind without Vexation, the Mind of Love and Respect—the Acceptance of Beings Is the First Gate of the Acceptance of Dharmas

‘A mind of safety’ gives the happiness of this life, of the next life, and on to the ultimate; it is not like parents and acquaintances, who give only the happiness of the present life.

When the bodhisattva benefits beings with an equal mind, a mind of kindness, and a lowly mind, perhaps people who do not know gratitude come to vex and harm the bodhisattva, do not believe in what he practises, and say that he is deceiving, that he does it for the sake of seeking fame, and that there is no real matter in it; and again there are people driven by Māra who come to vex and harm the bodhisattva—this is the evil within evil, not recognising a kindness received. With an equal mind the bodhisattva passes through all these without obstruction.

Having obtained this unobstructed mind, even though beings have great sins and great faults, the bodhisattva still only wishes to benefit them and does not give rise to a mind of vexing or harming. The mind of kindness, the mind of safety, the unobstructed mind, and the mind that does not vex—it is precisely like this.

It is like a filial son who loves and respects his father and mother, or as toward an elder brother, as toward a younger brother, as toward sisters, as toward sons and daughters—without a mind of lust, he gives rise to love, respect, and kindly thought. The people of the world can love and respect only their own kin; the bodhisattva extends it to all.

Obtaining this soft, pure, good mind is called the acceptance of beings; it is the first gate of the acceptance of dharmas.

Treatise ④ (continued): Old Dharmas and Guest Dharmas—the Ten Wholesome Paths, the Twelve Matters of the Dharmas of the Ordinary Person Separated from Desire, and the Six Perfections and So On up to the Abiding of the Dharma

Next is the practice of the ten wholesome paths. The ten wholesome paths, whether there is a Buddha or no Buddha, are always in the world; this is the teaching of wholesome dharmas in the world. The bodhisattva first practises these ten wholesome paths by forty kinds of practice. Why? Because this bodhisattva deeply keeps wholesome dharmas in mind, and in his mind thinks of beings with kindness.

The dharmas of the ordinary person separated from desire have twelve matters, and these too are practised by forty-eight kinds of practice.

The six perfections and so on up to the abiding of the Dharma are guest dharmas; only when there is a Buddha to expound them are there bodhisattvas to practise them.

The old dharmas and guest dharmas spoken of above, root and branch complete: in this life one then obtains wholesome dharmas, and one's wisdom is unobstructed; having given up this body, one obtains the Dharma body unobstructed, goes as one wishes to the ten directions to teach and transform beings, and in the presence of the buddhas of the ten directions cultivates and gathers wholesome dharmas.

Treatise ④ (continued): Two Thousand Bodhisattvas Obtain the Acceptance of the Non-arising of Dharmas—the Two Dharmas of Existence and Non-existence Complete; the Simile of the Two Wheels

‘When this Dharma was heard, two thousand bodhisattvas obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas’: this is because this chapter has spoken both of so subtle and deep a dharma as suchness, and also of the practice of existence—the gate of goodness and the gate of wisdom, the two practices complete. If only the dharma of suchness were spoken, those benefited would be few; if only the dharma of existence were spoken, those benefited would also be few. Now the two dharmas, existence and non-existence, are spoken of, and because both are complete, one obtains the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; as a cart with both wheels complete can get somewhere.

Because here the two truths were well expounded, two thousand bodhisattvas obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, fascicle seventy-two.

This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the fifty-fifth chapter, "Avaivartika", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-third fascicle.

Sūtra ①: The Question of Conduct, Kind, and Appearance—the Buddha Enumerates the Marks of the Avaivartika Bodhisattva

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! By what conduct, what kind, what appearance is one to know that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva can know the ground of ordinary people, the śrāvaka ground, the pratyekabuddha ground, and the Buddha ground—these grounds, within the mark of suchness, are without duality and without difference, and he neither recollects them nor discriminates them. Entering into this suchness and hearing of this matter, he passes straight on without doubt. Why? Because within this suchness there is no one mark and no two marks. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva also does not utter useless talk, but speaks only speech that accords with benefit, and does not look at others' strengths and shortcomings. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance one knows that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Again, by what conduct, kind, and appearance is one to know that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva can contemplate all dharmas as without conduct, without kind, without appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If all dharmas are without conduct, without kind, without appearance, in what dharma does the bodhisattva turn, so as to be called not turning?’

The Buddha said: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva turns within form, turns within feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, this is called the bodhisattva's not turning.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva turns within dānapāramitā and so on up to turns within prajñāpāramitā, turns within inner emptiness and so on up to within the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, turns within the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to within the eighteen unshared dharmas, turns within the śrāvaka ground and the pratyekabuddha ground, and so on up to turns within anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi: know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not turn. Why? Subhūti! The own-nature of form is non-existent; where would this bodhisattva abide? And so on up to: the own-nature of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is non-existent; where would this bodhisattva abide?

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not look at the features, forms, and words of the śramaṇas and brahmins of the outside paths, and does not have this thought: 「是諸外道，若沙門、若婆羅門，實知實見。」 tr. "These outside paths, whether śramaṇas or brahmins, truly know and truly see." To say that they have right view—there is no such thing!

‘Furthermore, the bodhisattva does not give rise to doubt, does not cling to grasping at precepts, does not fall into wrong view, nor does he seek worldly auspicious matters and take them for purity; he does not bow to and make offerings to the other gods with flowers and incense, necklaces, banners and canopies, and music. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is never born in a low and mean family, and so on up to is not born in the eight places of difficulty, and also never receives a woman's body. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva constantly practises the ten wholesome paths: he himself does not kill, does not teach others to kill, praises the dharma of not killing, and gladly praises those who do not kill; and so on up to: he himself does not hold wrong view, does not teach others to hold wrong view, does not praise the dharma of wrong view, and does not gladly praise those who practise wrong view. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, even in dreams, does not practise the ten unwholesome paths. By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises dānapāramitā for the sake of benefiting all beings, and so on up to practises prajñāpāramitā for the sake of benefiting all beings. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, toward all the dharmas there are, receives, reads, recites, expounds, and rightly recollects them—namely sūtra and so on up to upadeśa. When this bodhisattva gives the gift of Dharma, he has this thought: 「是法施因緣故，滿一切眾生願。以是法施功德，與一切眾生共之，迴向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」 tr. "Through the cause and condition of this gift of Dharma, may the wishes of all beings be fulfilled. The merit of this gift of Dharma I share with all beings, and dedicate it to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi." Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, within very deep dharmas, has no doubt and no regret.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Within very deep dharmas, through what cause and condition does the bodhisattva have no doubt and no regret?’

The Buddha said: ‘This avaivartika bodhisattva does not see any dharma at all that could serve as a place for doubt to arise—whether form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—he does not see in these dharmas any place where doubt could arise or where regret could arise. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva's deeds of body, deeds of speech, and deeds of mind are soft. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes deeds of body, deeds of speech, and deeds of mind with a mind of kindness. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is not together with the five hindrances: lust, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, doubt. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva in every place has nothing he loves and clings to. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, going out and coming in, going and coming, sitting, lying, walking, standing, is ever mindful and single-minded; going out and coming in, going and coming, sitting, lying, walking, standing, lifting the foot and setting it down, he is safe and composed, ever mindful and single-minded, and walks looking down at the ground. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The clothes the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wears and all his bedding are not found foul by people; he delights in cleanliness and is little troubled by illness. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! In the body of an ordinary person there are eighty thousand families of worms that eat away at his body; in the body of this avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva there are no such worms. Why? Because this bodhisattva's merit passes beyond the world; for this reason this bodhisattva has none of these families of worms. This bodhisattva's merit increases, and following his merit, he obtains purity of body and obtains purity of mind. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtain purity of body and obtain purity of mind?’

The Buddha said: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, following what he has obtained, increases his roots of goodness and removes the crookedness of mind and the perversity of mind. Subhūti! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's purity of body and purity of mind. Because body and mind are pure, he can pass beyond the śrāvaka ground and the pratyekabuddha ground and enter the bodhisattva's position. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not prize gain and offerings; though he practises the twelve dhūta practices, he does not prize the practice of dwelling in the araṇya, and so on up to does not prize the practice of keeping only the three robes. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva never gives rise to a mind of stinginess and greed; he does not give rise to a mind of breaking precepts, a mind of hatred and agitation, a mind of laziness, a mind of distraction; he does not give rise to a mind of folly and delusion; he does not give rise to a mind of jealousy. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind abides unmoved, his wisdom enters deeply, single-mindedly he listens and receives, and the dharmas he hears from others, as well as worldly matters, are all joined with prajñāpāramitā. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not see a single matter of livelihood that does not enter the nature of dharmas; all these matters he sees as joined with prajñāpāramitā. Through this cause and condition, Subhūti! this is called the avaivartika mark of the avaivartika bodhisattva.’

Treatise ①: The Difference between the Brief and the Extended Explanation, the Difference among the Three Matters of Conduct, Kind, and Appearance, the Intent of What the Buddha Says, and the Marks of Sūtra ① Explained Item by Item following the Text

Someone asks: The marks of the avaivartika have already been spoken of in place after place above; why is it asked again now?

The answer: Although above they were spoken of briefly in place after place, now they are to be spoken of at length. Most of what is here is the marks of the avaivartika, and so it is named "The Marks of the Avaivartika".

Furthermore, above, the marks of prajñāpāramitā were explained; next, the causes and conditions by which Māra ruins the marks of prajñāpāramitā were spoken of; now it is said that the person who believes in and receives prajñāpāramitā is precisely the avaivartika, and his appearance is to be spoken of; therefore Subhūti asks.

Furthermore, the causes and conditions the bodhisattva has practised from his first arousing of the mind onward, and the fruits of retribution he has obtained, are precisely the avaivartika; having received the prediction, he will certainly become a Buddha. It is like a man who has received an official post and already obtained its seal of credence: in his mind there is no more doubt; and again, as all the practices a śrāvaka performs are for the sake of the four fruits of the śramaṇa. The avaivartika is a ground of certainty and safety; it passes beyond ordinary people and does not enter the ground of the two vehicles; although he has not yet accomplished the path of the Buddha, he can already be a field of merit for the world. This matter is subtle, wondrous, and hard to obtain, and so Subhūti asks about his conduct and appearance.

The Buddha had originally commanded Subhūti to expound prajñāpāramitā, and so Subhūti asks: 「世尊！阿鞞跋致有何行、類、相貌？」 tr. "World-Honored One! What conduct, kind, and appearance does the avaivartika have?"

Someone asks: What difference is there among these three matters?

The answer: Someone says: these three matters are all of one meaning; by them one knows who is avaivartika and who is not avaivartika.

Again someone says: Conduct means that the avaivartika bodhisattva's deeds of body, deeds of speech, and deeds of mind differ from those of other people; by this conduct the very deep wisdom of the avaivartika is displayed. Kind means knowing by discrimination which among the bodhisattvas are avaivartika and which are not avaivartika. Appearance means that, apart from conduct and kind, by the remaining causes and conditions of various sorts one is able to know the mark of the avaivartika.

The intent of what the Buddha says is this: if the bodhisattva can be complete in the five perfections and enter deeply into prajñāpāramitā, then because of the power of skilful means he does not cling to prajñāpāramitā, but only contemplates suchness, namely the real mark of all dharmas. At that time the bodhisattva does not take the ground of ordinary people or the ground of the two vehicles as low and mean, nor take the Buddha ground as high and noble, because he has entered the suchness of all dharmas. Within the suchness of all dharmas there are no two dharmas to be discriminated; there is only entering suchness by suchness, and no other matter besides, nor does he discriminate and grasp at marks. Why? Because suchness is equal. One who can enter thus enters the Dharma treasury of the buddhas; in his mind no doubt arises, and he no longer seeks a fixed mark of dharmas. Therefore the sūtra says: 「須菩提！凡夫地乃至佛地，如相中無二無別。」 tr. "Subhūti! The ground of ordinary people and so on up to the Buddha ground are, within the mark of suchness, without duality and without difference." Obtaining such a dharma is called the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika.

Furthermore, to state this meaning briefly: the bodhisattva, by the suchness of all dharmas—namely ultimate emptiness—abandons all worldly matters, yet does not abide in ultimate emptiness either. Why? Because he has obtained the real mark of the ultimate purity of all dharmas. If the bodhisattva hears this dharma that is without support, there is no doubt or regret in his mind, and he does not give rise to a thought of support.

The matters above are the proper substance of the avaivartika; from here down, all is the fruit of the practice of ultimate emptiness.

Because he has obtained ultimate emptiness, the ground of his mind is pure and ripe; it is the mark of quiescence, and he does not utter useless talk. What he says is always Dharma, not non-Dharma; what he says is all true, not false speech; the words he speaks are soft, not coarse and rough; he always speaks with a mind of kindness and compassion, not with a mind of hatred; what he says suits the time, he constantly finds the right occasion, observes people's minds, and accords with their local customs.

Here, speech of benefit is spoken of briefly: he either teaches the path of the Buddha, or teaches the two vehicles, or teaches the path of humans and gods, or enables them to obtain in this life a happiness that is not sinful; because he constantly keeps far from the four evils of the deeds of speech, because his mind of kindness and compassion toward beings is great, and further because he can himself crush and thin the afflictions, therefore he can speak words of benefit through various causes and conditions.

Someone asks: The śrāvaka goes straight toward nirvāṇa and can refrain from looking at others; the bodhisattva looks on beings as his own children and constantly thinks of teaching and transforming them; how can it be said that he does not look at their strengths and shortcomings?

The answer: If beings cannot be tamed and gathered in, cannot be transformed and delivered, then do not look at such people. Why? If with a good mind you teach and admonish them, they instead think you are jealous of them, and it is like a knife stabbing their heart; since there is no benefit and it only increases their sin, he does not look at their strengths and shortcomings.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva should have this thought: 「如諸佛一切智，煩惱習盡，尚不能盡度眾生；何況我未得菩薩神通、未得無礙智，云何能普觀眾生？」 tr. "Even the buddhas, with their omniscience and the habitual residues of their afflictions exhausted, still cannot deliver all beings; how much less can I, who have not yet obtained the bodhisattva's supernormal powers nor obtained unobstructed knowledge—how could I observe all beings universally?" Among the avaivartika there are those who have obtained the supernormal powers; there are also those who have not, who after obtaining avaivartika separately cultivate the path of the supernormal powers and only then obtain them. As for those who had already obtained the supernormal powers beforehand, because these are not complete, they too cannot observe universally.

Someone asks: When Subhūti first asked about conduct, appearance, and kind, why did the Buddha not answer at once 「無行、相、類」 tr. "without conduct, appearance, or kind", but says it only here?

The answer: When the question was first asked, beings did not yet cling to the mark of the avaivartika, and so the Buddha's answer sometimes spoke of the mark of emptiness and sometimes spoke of existent marks; now, because beings cling to the mark of the avaivartika and wish to enter the avaivartika ground from the ground of ordinary people, the Buddha says 「一切無行、無類、無相貌」 tr. "all are without conduct, without kind, without appearance".

Subhūti asks further: 「若諸法盡空者，何以言於何法轉名不轉法？」 tr. "If all dharmas are wholly empty, why is it said: in what dharma does one turn so as to be called a dharma of not turning?" It ought to be that one turns from the ground of ordinary people and does not turn at the Buddha ground!

The Buddha answers: 「若菩薩能觀色等諸法空無所有，轉諸著心，故於佛道中不轉。」 tr. "If the bodhisattva can contemplate form and the other dharmas as empty and without anything existent, he turns the clinging minds, and therefore within the path of the Buddha he does not turn." Form and the other dharmas are born from the coming together of causes and conditions; the bodhisattva knows that this is the fault and wrong of the conditioned, and so he should not abide here. Because dharmas are empty, he can turn away the clinging mind; because he turns away the clinging mind, he is called not turning.

Furthermore, because the avaivartika bodhisattva has entered the right position, his mind is certain and without doubt: 「一切外道中有實智！若有實智，不名外道！」 tr. "That among all the outside paths there is real knowledge! If there were real knowledge, they would not be called outside paths!" This is called the mark of the avaivartika.

Someone asks: The 「不生疑」 tr. "does not give rise to doubt" spoken of here and the 「深法不疑」 tr. "no doubt within deep dharmas" spoken of later—what difference is there between these two kinds of non-doubt?

The answer: The non-doubt here is the kind that, within the four truths, is severed by one such as the srota-āpanna; the non-doubt later is non-doubt within the deep dharmas known by the Buddha. Because of the power of merit and wisdom, this bodhisattva, though he does not become a srota-āpanna and has not yet become a Buddha, can be without these two kinds of doubt. Grasping at precepts refers to the precepts of the outside paths; practising these precepts of the outside paths, one does not obtain nirvāṇa.

The remaining four views are all called wrong view.

Because he deeply believes in the causes and conditions of deeds and their fruits of retribution, he does not seek auspicious matters, and does not make offerings to the gods with flowers, incense, and the like.

Because in seeking the path he breaks the root of pride, he is never born in a low and mean family. Because he does not obstruct the merit of others and constantly encourages and assists them, he is not born in the eight places of difficulty. Because he crushes and thins lust and keeps far from a flattering mind, he does not receive a woman's body.

Furthermore, others, though they practise the ten wholesome paths, practise one part, or two parts, or three parts, and cannot be complete in all four; this bodhisattva, because of the mind of great compassion and his deep love of wholesome dharmas, practises all four completely.

Because he constantly cultivates and gathers the ten wholesome paths, even in dreams he does not practise the ten unwholesome paths.

The merit that others cultivate is only for themselves; the small bodhisattva, though he acts for beings, still also acts for himself; all the merit the avaivartika makes is for beings and not for himself. If merit could be given to others, he would give all of it to beings and cultivate it anew himself; only, it is unfindable and cannot be given to others. Therefore the bodhisattva teaches and transforms beings with the twelve divisions of the scriptures, and this too only for beings, not for himself.

Furthermore, because this bodhisattva's five faculties, faith and the rest, are keen, though he has not yet become a Buddha, he can believe in and receive dharmas. Here the Buddha further speaks the causes and conditions of emptiness: 「菩薩不見色等法故，無生疑處。」 tr. "Because the bodhisattva does not see form and the other dharmas, there is no place for doubt to arise."

Furthermore, because this bodhisattva constantly practises the mind of kindness and compassion, his deeds of mind are soft; because his deeds of mind are soft, the deeds of kindness of body and speech are accomplished.

Someone asks: The outside paths too have a mind of kindness and compassion; how can it be said that this is the mark of the avaivartika?

The answer: Though the outside paths have a mind of kindness and compassion, it is not deep; they cannot recollect beings universally, nor is it constant, because it does not come together with the real mark of all dharmas; the bodhisattva is not like this.

Furthermore, because this bodhisattva rebukes the five desires, removes the five hindrances, and enters the five-limbed first dhyāna, he is not together with the five hindrances. For the five hindrances cover over the mind, can wear away wisdom, break the path of the Buddha, and open the road of Māra.

This bodhisattva knows that all conditioned, made dharmas are false and unreal, like an illusion, like a dream, and that the unconditioned dharma is empty and without anything existent, the mark of quiescence; therefore in every place he has nothing he loves and clings to. Among beings, he does not cling even to the Buddha; among dharmas, he does not cling even to nirvāṇa. Hatred is a coarse and heavy sin, which the small bodhisattva has already severed, and so it is not spoken of; love is deep and subtle and hard to sever, and so it is spoken of now.

Furthermore, because this bodhisattva has entered deeply into meditative concentration, he guards all beings; because he guards all beings, he is constantly single-minded and bound in mindfulness, and does not vex or disturb beings. Because he does not break precepts, in going out and coming in, going and coming, and all the rest, he is always composed and single-minded. The meaning of the sūtra's words 「舉足下足，視地而行」 tr. "lifting the foot and setting it down, he walks looking at the ground" is that it is for the sake of guarding and being mindful of beings, and for the sake of avoiding a distracted mind.

Furthermore, because this bodhisattva has long cultivated and gathered wholesome dharmas without measure and without limit, there are no eighty thousand families of worms in his body, and also because he is little troubled by sickness and pain, his clothes, bedding, and the like are always clean and without stain. Because of the power of the roots of goodness, such as obtaining the real mark of all dharmas, there are no eighty thousand families of worms in his body. Because his mind is pure, his deeds of body, deeds of speech, and the rest are also pure; because he has left the low and mean afflictions such as falsehood, deceit, perversity, and crookedness, his mind is pure. Because the two matters of body and mind are pure, though he moves in the world, he leaves the various oppressions, pains, and distresses; because his mind is not weary and does not sink, he passes out beyond the śrāvaka ground and the pratyekabuddha ground.

Because this bodhisattva prizes the path of the Buddha, he does not prize gain and offerings; though he practises the dhūta practices, he does not prize this dharma either, because this dharma is only a small part of the causes and conditions of the ultimate path and is not the ultimate path. This is called the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika bodhisattva.

Someone asks: This bodhisattva has not yet obtained the path of the Buddha and has not yet severed the afflictions; how can he never give rise to stinginess, greed, and the various other evil minds?

The answer: The avaivartika bodhisattva severs the afflictions at the time he obtains the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; only, he has not yet severed their habitual residues. If they were not already severed, how could he never give rise to stinginess, greed, and the other minds that obstruct the path? As the sūtra says: 「須陀洹乃至阿羅漢，即是菩薩無生法忍。」 tr. "The srota-āpanna and so on up to the arhat are precisely the bodhisattva's acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas."

Furthermore, someone says: because the bodhisattva practises the six perfections and deeply cultivates and gathers merits, the afflictions are crushed and thinned and do not arise in his mind, and so it is called 「常不生」 tr. "never gives rise to".

Furthermore, because this bodhisattva has practised dhyānapāramitā for immeasurable lifetimes, his mind abides unmoved; because he has accumulated the practice of prajñā, he enters deeply into wisdom. Because this bodhisattva knows the flavour of the Dharma to be subtle and wondrous, when he hears the Dharma from others he listens and receives single-mindedly; because his delight in the Dharma is deep, whatever he hears—whether the dharmas of the three vehicles, or the dharmas of the outside paths and of the world—because his own mind is subtle and wondrous, all of it is joined with prajñā, and he does not break the mark of the Dharma. It is like a strong and healthy man without illness, for whom nothing he eats goes undigested; and again, as the Buddha has obtained the mark of the supreme flavour, so that even bitter, pungent, unpleasant food, once it reaches the Buddha's mouth, all becomes the supreme flavour; and again, as when rock sugar is being boiled and is about to be done, the various things thrown into it all become rock sugar, because the power of its wondrous flavour is strong. The bodhisattva is also like this: because the power of prajñāpāramitā is strong, he can make the various dharmas all join with prajñā into one flavour, without the various faults and wrongs.

Furthermore, what are called worldly matters are the deeds of body and deeds of speech the bodhisattva gives rise to, all for the sake of pitying and delivering beings; this mind of pity all enters the first gate of prajñāpāramitā.

Again, the causes and conditions of the various worldly matters, down to sitting, rising, walking, eating and drinking, and speaking—in all of these he is constantly mindful of making beings safe. These dharmas of coming and going and the rest all enter the nature of dharmas, as is said in 「破來去」 tr. "the refutation of coming and going". Matters of livelihood are also like this.

This is called the mark of the avaivartika.

Sūtra ②: The Three Trials of Evil Māra—Conjuring the Eight Great Hells, Conjuring a Bhikṣu Who Falsely Claims the True Buddha-Dharma, Expounding the Semblance Path and Conjuring Countless Arhats; in What Dharma One Turns so as to Be Called Not Turning

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! Suppose evil Māra, before an avaivartika bodhisattva, conjures up the eight great hells, and within each hell there are thousands of myriads of koṭi of bodhisattvas all being burned and boiled and undergoing every kind of bitter pain and torment, and says to the bodhisattva: 「是諸菩薩皆是阿鞞跋致，佛所授記，墮大地獄中。汝若為佛授阿鞞跋致記者，當入是大地獄中；佛為授汝地獄記，汝不如還捨菩薩心，可得不墮地獄，得生天上。」 tr. "These bodhisattvas are all avaivartika, given the prediction by the Buddha, and they have fallen into the great hells. If you have been given the prediction of avaivartika by the Buddha, you will enter these great hells; the Buddha has given you the prediction of hell. You had better give up the bodhisattva mind again; then you can avoid falling into hell and be born in the heavens." Subhūti! If this bodhisattva, seeing this and hearing this, is unmoved in mind, does not doubt, is not startled, and has this thought: 「阿鞞跋致菩薩若墮地獄、畜生、餓鬼中，終無是處！」 tr. "That an avaivartika bodhisattva should fall into the hells, among the animals, or among the hungry ghosts—this can never be!" Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! Evil Māra conjures himself into the robes of a bhikṣu, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says to the bodhisattva: 「汝先聞應如是淨修六波羅蜜乃至應如是修行得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是事汝疾悔捨！汝先於過去、未來、現在諸佛所，從初發心乃至法住，於其中間所作善根，隨喜、迴向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是事汝亦疾放捨！若汝疾捨，我當語汝真佛法。汝先所聞，皆非佛法、非佛教，皆是文飾合集作耳！我所說是真佛法。」 tr. "What you heard before—that you should purely cultivate the six perfections thus, and so on up to that you should practise thus and obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—quickly repent of this and give it up! The roots of goodness you made before, in the presence of the buddhas of the past, future, and present, from your first arousing of the mind up to the abiding of the Dharma and in all the time between, rejoicing in them and dedicating them to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—quickly let go of this too and give it up! If you give it up quickly, I will tell you the true Buddha-Dharma. What you heard before is all not the Buddha's Dharma, not the Buddha's teaching; it is all mere ornamented compilation! What I say is the true Buddha-Dharma." If this bodhisattva, hearing such talk, is startled, doubts, and regrets in his mind, know that this bodhisattva has not yet received the prediction of the buddhas and is not yet firmly abiding in the nature of the avaivartika. If this bodhisattva is unmoved in mind, is not startled, does not doubt, does not regret, accords with and relies on the dharma of non-making and non-arising, does not believe others' words and does not practise following others—when practising the six perfections he does not follow others' words, and so on up to when practising anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi he also does not follow others' words. Subhūti! It is like an arhat whose outflows are exhausted: he does not believe others' words, does not follow others' practice, sees the real mark of all dharmas directly before him, and evil Māra cannot make him change. Just so, Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: people who seek the śrāvaka path or the pratyekabuddha path cannot break him and cannot subdue his mind. Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva certainly abides in the avaivartika ground and does not follow others' words; even the Buddha's words he does not simply believe and take, how much less the words of those who seek the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, or of evil Māra, or of the brahmin ascetics of the outside paths! This can never be! Why? Because this bodhisattva does not see any dharma that can be followed in belief—namely form, or feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, or the suchness of form and so on up to the suchness of consciousness—and so on up to he does not see anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, how much less the suchness of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! Evil Māra conjures himself into the body of a bhikṣu, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says to the bodhisattva: 「汝所行者，是生死法，非薩婆若道，汝今身取苦盡證！」 tr. "What you practise is the dharma of birth and death, not the path of sarvajñā; in this very body take the realisation of the end of suffering!" At this time evil Māra, for the bodhisattva, uses worldly practice to expound the dharma of the semblance path; this dharma of the semblance path is bound to the three realms—namely the mark of the skeleton, or the first dhyāna and so on up to neither perception nor non-perception—and he says to him: 「用是道、用是行，當得須陀洹果乃至當得阿羅漢果。汝行是道，今世苦盡；汝用受生死中種種苦惱為？今是四大身，尚不用受，何況當更受未來身！」 tr. "By this path and by this practice you will obtain the fruit of the srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of the arhat. If you practise this path, your suffering ends in this life; what use is it for you to undergo the various pains and distresses within birth and death? Even this present body of the four great elements you need not undergo, how much less should you undergo a future body!" Subhūti! If this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is not startled in mind, does not doubt, does not regret, and has this thought: 「是比丘益我不少，為我說似道法。行是似道法，不得至須陀洹果證，不得至阿羅漢、辟支佛道證，何況得至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！」 tr. "This bhikṣu benefits me not a little, expounding to me the dharma of the semblance path. Practising this dharma of the semblance path, one does not reach the realisation of the fruit of the srota-āpanna, does not reach the realisation of the arhat or of the path of the pratyekabuddha, how much less reach anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi!" This bodhisattva-mahāsattva rejoices all the more and has this thought: 「是比丘益我不少，為我說障道法。我知是障道法，不障學三乘道。」 tr. "This bhikṣu benefits me not a little, expounding to me the dharmas that obstruct the path. I know these dharmas that obstruct the path, and they do not obstruct my training in the path of the three vehicles." At this time evil Māra, knowing that the bodhisattva rejoices, then says: 「善男子！汝欲見是菩薩摩訶薩供養如恒河沙等諸佛衣被、飲食、臥具、醫藥、資生所須；亦於如恒河沙等諸佛所行檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜；亦親近如恒河沙等諸佛，諮問菩薩摩訶薩道：『世尊！菩薩摩訶薩云何住菩薩摩訶薩乘？云何行檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜、四念處乃至大慈大悲？』是菩薩摩訶薩如佛所教，如是住、如是行、如是修。是菩薩摩訶薩如是教、如是學，尚不得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提、不得薩婆若，何況汝當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！」 tr. "Good man! Do you wish to see these bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who made offerings to buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges of robes, food and drink, bedding, medicine, and whatever is needed to sustain life; who also, in the presence of buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges, practised dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā; who also drew near to buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges and inquired about the path of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: ‘World-Honored One! How does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva abide in the vehicle of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva? How does he practise dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, prajñāpāramitā, the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to great kindness and great compassion?’ These bodhisattva-mahāsattvas abided thus, practised thus, and cultivated thus, as the Buddha taught. These bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, taught thus and training thus, still did not obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and did not obtain sarvajñā—how much less will you obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi!" If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing this, is not altered in mind and is not startled, but rejoices all the more and has this thought: 「是比丘益我不少，為我說障道法；是障道法，不得須陀洹道，乃至不得阿羅漢、辟支佛道，何況得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！」 tr. "This bhikṣu benefits me not a little, expounding to me the dharmas that obstruct the path; by these dharmas that obstruct the path one does not obtain the path of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to does not obtain the path of the arhat or the pratyekabuddha, how much less obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi!" At this time evil Māra, knowing that this bodhisattva's mind does not sink and is not startled, in that very place conjures up many bhikṣus and says to the bodhisattva: 「此皆是發意求佛道菩薩，今皆住阿羅漢地；是輩尚不能得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，汝云何能得？」 tr. "These are all bodhisattvas who aroused the intent to seek the path of the Buddha, and now all abide in the arhat ground; even these could not obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—how could you obtain it?" If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva at once has this thought: 「此是惡魔說相似道行，菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，不應轉阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，亦不應墮聲聞、辟支佛道中。」 tr. "This is evil Māra expounding the practice of a path that merely resembles the path; the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā should not turn from the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor should he fall into the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha." And again has this thought: 「行檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜乃至一切種智，不得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，無有是處！」 tr. "That one should practise dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, and not obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—this can never be!" Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva has this thought: 「若菩薩能如佛所說，不遠離般若波羅蜜心乃至一切種智，是菩薩終不退阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。若菩薩覺知魔事，亦不失阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」 tr. "If a bodhisattva can, as the Buddha taught, not stray far from the mind of prajñāpāramitā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, this bodhisattva will never retrogress from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. If a bodhisattva is aware of and knows the deeds of Māra, he also does not lose anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi." By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called the mark of an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! In what dharma does one turn, so as to be called not turning?’

The Buddha said: ‘One turns in the mark of form, turns in the marks of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, turns in the mark of the twelve sense-fields, the mark of the eighteen elements, the marks of lust, hatred, and delusion, the mark of wrong view, the mark of the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to the marks of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, and so on up to the mark of the Buddha; for this reason it is called the mark of a non-retrogressing bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Why? Because this avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva, by this dharma of emptiness of specific marks, enters the bodhisattva's position and obtains the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; even the slightest dharma is unfindable, and because it is unfindable, nothing is made; because nothing is made, nothing arises; this is called the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva—by this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Treatise ②: The Explanation—Why Māra Tests Him, the Simile of False Gold Burned in Fire, Rubbed, and Beaten, the Simile of the Arhat Whose Outflows Are Exhausted, the Simile of the Dog Wearing a Lion's Skin, and the Restatement that Turning in the Marks of Form Is Precisely Not Turning

The treatise-author explains:

If Māra already knows clearly that this bodhisattva is avaivartika, he does not try to thwart him again; if he cannot yet know it clearly, he tests him and tries to break him by various causes and conditions. He may transform himself into the eight great hells, conjuring countless bodhisattvas being burned and boiled within them, and say to the bodhisattva: 「此皆是阿鞞跋致，諸佛授記者；汝若受記，為受地獄記。」 tr. "These are all avaivartika, those to whom the buddhas have given the prediction; if you have received the prediction, you have received the prediction of hell."

Someone asks: Through what cause and condition does evil Māra say 「行善者受地獄記」 tr. "those who practise good receive the prediction of hell"?

The answer: It is because this bodhisattva wishes to take on suffering in place of all beings that evil Māra speaks of receiving the prediction of hell, saying that if you practise merit and are born in the heavens, it is only for yourself, and you have nothing to do with the matters of beings.

If the bodhisattva, hearing this, is moved in mind, doubts and regrets, and believes and receives Māra's words, know that he has not yet received the prediction of avaivartika. If the bodhisattva, hearing this, does not doubt, is not moved, is not startled, and has this thought: 「阿鞞跋致，得諸法實相故，不著一切法者，乃至不生小罪，何況三惡道罪！如火中有水、水中生火，無有是處！」 tr. "The avaivartika, because he has obtained the real mark of all dharmas, is one who does not cling to any dharma; he does not give rise even to a small sin, how much less the sins of the three evil destinies! As for water to exist within fire, or fire to arise within water—this cannot be!"

Furthermore, there is again Māra who puts on the robes of a bhikṣu, comes to the bodhisattva, and says: 「汝先從小師聞修六波羅蜜法皆是虛妄，所集隨喜心功德亦是虛誑。汝先所聞皆是虛誑，文飾不真，非是佛口所說；今我為汝說者，真是佛法。汝疾捨之！」 tr. "The dharma of cultivating the six perfections that you heard before from a lesser teacher is all false, and the merit of the mind of rejoicing that you gathered is also false and deceptive. What you heard before is all false and deceptive, ornamented and not true, not spoken by the Buddha's mouth; what I now tell you is truly the Buddha-Dharma. Give that up quickly!"

If this bodhisattva, having heard, is moved in mind, is angry, and doubts, know that the buddhas have not yet given him the prediction; as with false gold: burned in fire, rubbed, and beaten, whether it turns black, or red, or white, one then knows it is not real.

If the bodhisattva, having heard, is not angry and does not doubt, accords with the dharma of non-arising and non-ceasing, of non-origination and non-making, and moves within the marks of the six perfections, knowing for himself that he does not follow others' words, know that this is a true avaivartika. It is like an arhat: because his outflows are exhausted, when the various deeds of Māra come they cannot break him. The avaivartika bodhisattva is also like this: no one can subdue him, because he himself knows directly before him the real mark of all dharmas; even if Māra comes in the body of a Buddha, if what he says differs from the mark of the Dharma, he does not believe and receive it. As when a dog wears a lion's skin: though the beasts fear it when they see it, when they hear its voice they know it is a dog—how much more so when Māra transforms himself into some other body and the like!

Here the Buddha himself states the cause and condition: 「是菩薩見色等法空故，誰當隨他語？」 tr. "Because this bodhisattva sees form and the other dharmas as empty, who would follow others' words?"

Furthermore, evil Māra comes in the body of a bhikṣu and says to the bodhisattva: 「是六波羅蜜皆是生死道：布施等福德因緣故，欲界中受福樂；禪波羅蜜因緣故，色界中受樂；是般若波羅蜜無定相故，名虛誑法，迴轉五道中，不能自出，是生死道。人誑汝言：『是一切種智道。』我今實語：『汝取涅槃，今世盡苦！』」 tr. "These six perfections are all the path of birth and death: because of the causes and conditions of the merit of giving and the rest, one receives the happiness of merit in the desire realm; because of the causes and conditions of dhyānapāramitā, one receives happiness in the form realm; this prajñāpāramitā, because it has no fixed mark, is called a false and deceptive dharma, revolving among the five destinies, unable to get itself out—it is the path of birth and death. People deceive you, saying: ‘This is the path of the omniscience of all kinds.’ I now speak the truth: ‘Take nirvāṇa, and end suffering in this life!’"

If this bodhisattva is silent, Māra then expounds to him the dharma of the semblance path: 「若觀三十六種不淨、若觀骨人、若出入息，因是道得四禪、四無色定；汝因是禪定，可得須陀洹乃至阿羅漢。汝今此身是罪因緣所生，佛說彈指頃不讚更受身，何況久住生死中！」 tr. "Whether contemplating the thirty-six kinds of impurity, or contemplating the skeleton, or the breath going out and in—by this path one obtains the four dhyānas and the four formless absorptions; by these meditative concentrations you can obtain the srota-āpanna and so on up to arhatship. This present body of yours is born from the causes and conditions of sin; the Buddha said that he does not praise taking on a body again even for the space of a snap of the fingers—how much less abiding long within birth and death!"

The avaivartika bodhisattva, hearing this, rejoices in his mind and has this thought: 「是比丘大益我，為我說似道法；我得是似道法，即知真道。」 tr. "This bhikṣu greatly benefits me, expounding to me the dharma of the semblance path; obtaining this dharma of the semblance path, I know at once the true path." As a traveller who knows the wrong track thereby knows the right road. The dharmas that obstruct the path are also like this. The avaivartika is a great person; being of weight, he does not wrangle with this bhikṣu.

Māra, seeing the bodhisattva silent, says with joy: 「是人信受我語！」 tr. "This person believes and receives my words!" He then says to the bodhisattva: 「善男子！有無量菩薩供養如恒河沙等諸佛，諮問、奉行六波羅蜜及菩薩道法，面受佛教，盡受行諸菩薩行，尚不得無上道，今皆作阿羅漢，汝欲見不？」 tr. "Good man! There are immeasurable bodhisattvas who made offerings to buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges, inquired about and respectfully practised the six perfections and the dharmas of the bodhisattva path, received the Buddha's teaching face to face, and received and practised all the practices of the bodhisattvas, and still they did not obtain the unsurpassed path; now they have all become arhats. Do you wish to see them?" The bodhisattva, hearing this, is still silent.

Māra then, in that very place, at once conjures up countless arhat-bhikṣus and says to the bodhisattva: 「是諸比丘皆久行無上道，今皆取阿羅漢，汝今云何獨欲作佛？」 tr. "These bhikṣus all long practised the unsurpassed path, and now all have taken arhatship; how is it that you alone now wish to become a Buddha?" The avaivartika at once rejoices again: 「是比丘為我說似道、障道法。是菩薩實行六波羅蜜諸功德，定不退墮二乘。如佛所說，心常不離六波羅蜜等諸功德，不得無上道，無有是處！」 tr. "This bhikṣu expounds to me the dharmas of the semblance path and of obstructing the path. This bodhisattva truly practises the merits of the six perfections, and will certainly not retrogress and fall into the two vehicles. As the Buddha said: that one whose mind is never apart from the merits of the six perfections and the rest should not obtain the unsurpassed path—this cannot be!" If the bodhisattva knows this to be a deed of Māra, he gains great benefit and loses nothing. For this reason the bodhisattva's mind is not moved or turned; this is called the mark of the avaivartika.

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: 「世尊！於何法轉名為不轉？」 tr. "World-Honored One! In what dharma does one turn, so as to be called not turning?"

The Buddha said: 「於色相等法中轉還。」 tr. "One turns back within the mark of form and the other such dharmas." Above was the brief explanation; now it is the extended explanation.

If the bodhisattva can turn within the marks of form and the rest, this is called practising the emptiness of nature of all dharmas, obtaining the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and entering the bodhisattva's position. What is called the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas is this: even the subtlest dharma is unfindable, how much less a great one! This is called non-arising. Having obtained this dharma of non-arising, he does not make and does not give rise to the various deeds and practices; this is called obtaining the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. The bodhisattva who has obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas—this is called the avaivartika.

Conducts, kinds, and appearances such as these, without measure, are the marks of the avaivartika.

This fascicle is titled Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on Chapter Fifty-Six, "Turning and Not Turning" (Fascicle Seventy-Three).

Sūtra ①: Māra Ruins the Bodhisattva's Mind with Words That All Dharmas Are Equal to Space; Both Turning and Not Turning Are Called Avaivartika; the Marks of Not Retrogressing—Entering the Dhyānas and Samādhis at Once yet Not Receiving Their Fruit; Prizing Nothing among All Dharmas; at Home Receiving the Five Desires by Skilful Means; the Vajra-holding Spirits Following and Guarding Him; Always Complete in the Five Faculties; Being a Superior Person; Practising Pure Livelihood

‘Again, Subhūti! Evil Māra comes to where the bodhisattva is to ruin his mind, and speaks to him thus: ‘Sarvajñā is equal to space; it is without the mark of anything existent. Dharmas too are equal to space; they are of the mark of being empty and without anything. Within dharmas that are equal to space, within the mark of being empty and without anything existent, there is no one who can obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening), and no one who does not obtain it. All these dharmas are like space, without the mark of anything existent; you toil and suffer for nothing! The anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi you have heard of is all a deed of Māra, not what the Buddha said; you should give up this vow; do not through the long night receive a retribution without safety, of sorrow and suffering, and of falling into the evil paths!’ When these good men and good women hear such a rebuke, they should think thus: ‘This is a deed of evil Māra, to ruin my mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Although dharmas are like space, without anything existent and empty of specific marks, yet beings do not know, do not see, and do not understand it; and it is precisely with this adornment of the great vow—without anything existent and empty of specific marks, like space—that I am to obtain the omniscience of all kinds and expound this Dharma for beings, so that they gain liberation and obtain the fruit of the srota-āpanna, the fruit of the sakṛdāgāmin, the fruit of the anāgāmin, the fruit of the arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, and anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’ Subhūti! From the first arousing of intent onward, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing this Dharma, should make his mind firm, unmoved, not turning. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising the six perfections with such a firm mind, a mind not turning, a mind unmoved, will then enter the bodhisattva's position.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Is one called avaivartika because of not turning? Or is one also called avaivartika because of turning?’

The Buddha said: ‘One is called avaivartika because of not turning, and one is also called avaivartika because of turning.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How is it that one is called avaivartika because of not turning, and also called avaivartika because of turning?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not turn in the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground, for this reason he is called not turning. If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva turns in the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground, for this reason he is also called not turning. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called the mark of an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Because of this conduct, kind, and appearance, evil Māra cannot ruin his mind and make him leave anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! If the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to enter the first dhyāna, the second dhyāna, the third dhyāna, the fourth dhyāna, and so on up to the dhyāna of the absorption of cessation, he can enter at once. Again, Subhūti! If the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path, the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis, and so on up to the five supernormal powers, he can cultivate them at once. Though this bodhisattva cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the five supernormal powers, this person does not receive the fruit of the four foundations of mindfulness; though he cultivates the dhyānas, he does not receive the fruit of the dhyānas, and so on up to not receiving the fruit of the dhyāna of the absorption of cessation: he does not realise the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to not realising the path of the pratyekabuddha. This bodhisattva deliberately takes on a body for the sake of beings, and benefits them according to what suits them. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Again, Subhūti! This avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is always mindful of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and because he never in the end leaves the mind of sarvajñā, he does not prize form, does not prize marks, does not prize the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, does not prize dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, prajñāpāramitā, does not prize the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, does not prize the five supernormal powers, does not prize the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path, does not prize the Buddha's ten powers and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, does not prize purifying buddha-worlds, does not prize bringing beings to maturity, does not prize seeing the Buddha, does not prize planting roots of goodness. Why? All dharmas are empty of specific marks; he sees no dharma that can be prized, nor any dharma that can give rise to a prizing mind. Why? All these dharmas are equal to space, without anything existent, empty of specific marks. Subhūti! This avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes such a mind, and within the four kinds of bodily deportment—going out and coming in, coming and going, sitting, lying, walking, standing—he is single-minded and undisturbed. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Again, Subhūti! If the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva dwells at home, by the power of skilful means, for the sake of benefiting beings, he receives the five desires; he gives to beings: to those who need food he gives food, to those who need drink he gives drink, and clothes, bedding, and so on up to all the necessities of life he gives them. This bodhisattva himself practises dānapāramitā, also teaches others to practise dānapāramitā, praises the dharma of practising dānapāramitā, and rejoicingly praises those who practise dānapāramitā; with śīlapāramitā and so on up to prajñāpāramitā it is likewise. Subhūti! When the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is at home, he can give beings treasure filling Jambudvīpa, and so on up to giving beings treasure filling the three-thousand great-thousand world. Nor is it for himself; he always cultivates pure conduct, and does not bully or plunder others so as to cause them sorrow and vexation. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

‘Again, Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva has the vajra-holding spirit king constantly following him, who makes this vow: ‘This bodhisattva-mahāsattva will obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; I will always follow him.’ And so on up to the vajra-holding spirits of the five clans constantly following and guarding him. Because of this, whether gods, or Māra, or Brahmā, or any others of great strength in the world, none can ruin this bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind of sarvajñā, up to the time he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mark of avaivartika.

‘Again, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is always complete in the bodhisattva's five faculties: the faculty of faith, the faculty of vigour, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom; this is called the mark of avaivartika.

‘Again, Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is a superior person, not an inferior person.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What kind of person is a superior person?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva single-mindedly practises the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, without distraction, this is called a superior person. By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called the mark of avaivartika.

‘Again, Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva is single-minded and always mindful of the Buddha's path; he does not practise spell-craft, does not compound medicines, and does not by spells make ghosts and spirits possess men and women and then go and ask them about good and ill fortune, the fortunes and features of men and women, and the length of life. Why? Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva knows that all dharmas are empty of specific marks and sees no marks of dharmas, and so he practises pure livelihood. Subhūti! By this conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is called the mark of an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Treatise ①: The Other Names of Sarvajñā and the Truth of Māra's Words; Recognising Māra and Taking the Emptiness of Specific Marks as Adornment; Both Kinds of the Fruit of the Srota-āpanna Are Empty; the Glosses on the Three Names Firm, Unmoved, and Not Turning; the Buddha Gives Two Kinds of Answer according to the Two Truths; the Simile of Taking Up Fire with Tongs; Breaking by Humans and Breaking by Non-humans; the Simile of the Five Faculties and the Simile of the Small Child; the Two Kinds of the Five Faculties of Faith and the Rest; a Single Mind without Distraction Gathers In All That Is Wholesome; the Wrong Livelihood of Spell-craft, Compounding Medicines, and Casting Spells on Ghosts

The treatise-author explains:

Here there are further marks of the avaivartika bodhisattva. If evil Māra speaks thus: ‘Sarvajñā is equal to space.’

Sarvajñā has names of every kind: it is called omniscience, or called the omniscience of all kinds, or called the unsurpassed path, or called the immeasurable dharmas of the buddhas, or called awakening; all are names of sarvajñā. The sarvajñā spoken of here, know that it is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

All bodhisattvas vow and wish to obtain sarvajñā. Māra comes wishing to ruin this, and speaks thus: ‘This sarvajñā is empty and without anything existent; it is only that your teachers deceive you! As space is without anything existent, without form and without shape, and cannot be known, sarvajñā is also like this.’ Therefore it is said to be equal to space.

What are called dharmas are the six perfections and the rest, the dharmas that aid the path in tending toward sarvajñā; these dharmas too are empty. Sarvajñā too is of the mark of being empty and without anything existent; these dharmas have only names and no real matter. Within this there is no one who obtains sarvajñā, there is no such matter as tending toward sarvajñā, and there is no one who aids the path; you toil and suffer for nothing! Your teachers always teach you to stay far from the deeds of Māra, yet sarvajñā is itself precisely a deed of Māra. Why? Because it gives up nirvāṇa and takes up birth and death. The sūtras you heard before, and the meaning of the six perfections, are none of them the Buddha's Dharma; they are all made by people. Now quickly repent and give up this wrong mind; if you do not give it up, through the long night you will receive the suffering of the three evil destinies.

When the avaivartika bodhisattva hears this, he at once recognises that this is a deed of Māra: this Māra is disparaging sarvajñā, wishing to make me stay far from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Why? Although all dharmas are empty and without anything existent, ordinary beings have their minds covered by inversion, and so do not know and do not see; and it is precisely by taking the emptiness of specific marks as adornment that I should obtain omniscience and expound the Dharma for beings. If all dharmas are empty and I take real existence as adornment, this does not accord; if dharmas are empty and the adornment too is empty, only then do they match. Expounding the Dharma for beings is also like this.

What the sūtra says, ‘causing beings to obtain the fruit of the srota-āpanna’—the fruit of the srota-āpanna is of two kinds: first, the severance of the three fetters—this is an unconditioned dharma; second, that which accords with the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis—this is the conditioned fruit of the srota-āpanna. Both of these are empty: among conditioned dharmas, it is empty because of the three gates of liberation; among unconditioned dharmas, it is empty because of the mark of non-arising, non-abiding, and non-ceasing. And so on up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, it is also like this.

The avaivartika bodhisattva, from the first arousing of intent onward, hearing this Dharma, makes his mind firm, unmoved, not turning. Because none of the arrows of the afflictions can enter, it is called firm. Because none of the outside paths or Māra's people can make it turn, it is called unmoved. Because it does not retrogress from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, it is called not turning. With these three kinds of mind this bodhisattva practises the six perfections and enters the bodhisattva's position. The meaning of the bodhisattva's position is as explained before. This is called entering the bodhisattva's position. One who has entered the bodhisattva's position is called avaivartika.

Subhūti asks: ‘Is one called avaivartika because of not turning? Or is one called avaivartika because of turning?’

The Buddha answers in two ways because of the two truths, namely worldly truth and the truth of the highest meaning. If the bodhisattva enters the bodhisattva's position, turning away the mind of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha and entering straight into the bodhisattva's position, this is called turning. What is called not turning is the highest meaning of entering avaivartika: within the one mark of all dharmas, that is, the signless, there is not even a fixed mark of one vehicle, how much less of three vehicles! So there is nothing to turn; because there is nothing to turn, it is called avaivartika.

Furthermore, though the avaivartika practises the dharmas of the desire realm to ferry beings across, he is free in entering and leaving the meditative concentrations; because he is free in the meditative concentrations, if he wishes to teach and transform others to cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path, the three gates of liberation and so on up to the five supernormal powers, he is free in all of it. Though he enters the meditative concentrations, because his mind is pure and soft he does not receive the blessings of the heavens of long life, but remains in the desire realm teaching and transforming. Though he cultivates the dharmas of the path such as the four foundations of mindfulness, he does not realise the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to not realising the path of the pratyekabuddha. This bodhisattva surveys the lands of the ten directions, knows where there is a place where beings can be benefited, and deliberately takes on a body for this and is born in that land. All such things as these are called the marks of the avaivartika.

This bodhisattva is single-minded and deeply mindful, and because he never leaves anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he prizes only anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and does not prize other matters—that is, he does not prize even the golden body of the buddhas with the thirty-two marks. Because he does not abandon his original vow to ferry beings across, he does not prize the path of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha. Because this person prizes having nothing to be attained and ultimate emptiness, he does not prize this giving, and so on up to not prizing the planting of roots of goodness—how much less the gain and offerings of the world of the five desires! Why? The bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as empty of specific marks, and does not see that there is any real, fixed dharma that could give rise to a prizing mind.

Furthermore, some people, because they crave and cling to what they prize, have minds that are agitated and cannot settle themselves: on gaining they rejoice, on losing they grieve. Because the bodhisattva prizes nothing and clings to nothing, in gain and loss alike his mind is pure and unmoved.

Because his bodily conduct and verbal conduct are in harmony and not at variance, in the four deportments he is single-minded and always mindful, without lapse. Furthermore, because he has entered deeply into dhyānapāramitā, in the four deportments he has no lapse; this is a mark of the avaivartika bodhisattva.

Someone asks:

The sūtra says: ‘The avaivartika bodhisattva, by the power of skilful means, for the sake of benefiting beings, receives the five desires.’ What kind of skilful means is this?

The answer:

It is like taking up fire with tongs: though one holds it, one is not burned. The five desires are like fire; they can burn a person's roots of goodness. This bodhisattva reflects: ‘Having gone forth, I am only a single body; how can I gather in beings by giving? Beings mostly need food and drink and clothing; few need the Dharma.’ For the sake of gathering in beings, the bodhisattva deliberately is born into a rich and noble family, gives to beings, gives them whatever they need, and can benefit widely beings who have gone forth and beings at home; as with the great earth, on which people, birds, and beasts all receive its benefit. At this time he then practises the six perfections by means of these four kinds.

If one who has gone forth praises giving, perhaps someone will say: ‘You yourself are a single body without wealth, yet you only teach others to give.’ And then they will not believe and accept it. Therefore the bodhisattva by skilful means appears as a white-robed layman, fills everyone with wealth and urges people to practise giving, and people then believe and accept it.

This bodhisattva may become a wheel-turning sage king: when in his mind he thinks of giving, all Jambudvīpa is filled with treasure; as in the palace of King Crown-born, when the thought of wanting treasure arose in his mind, treasure piled up to the knees. Or he becomes Śakra, or the Brahmā king, and can rain down treasure filling the three-thousand world, making offerings to the Buddha and filling everyone. For the sake of gathering in beings, he himself does not use it. When people receive the five desires, their minds give rise to pride and they bully others. Because this person always cuts off lust, his afflictions are thin and he does not give rise to pride; because he does not give rise to pride, he does not bully beings. This is called the mark of the avaivartika.

Furthermore, if the bodhisattva obtains the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, enters the bodhisattva's position, and receives the prediction, then the vajra-holding spirit king and the others, according to the Dharma, should follow and guard him; when he attains the path of the Buddha, they show their bodily forms, and at that time let people see them.

Here the treatise-author himself sets out the causes and conditions of this: ‘Neither humans nor non-humans can break him.’ Breaking by humans means killing him, binding him, or winning over him in debate, and the like. Breaking by non-humans means giving him illness, driving him mad, or taking his life, or conjuring a frightful evil body to terrify him, or conjuring the body of a Buddha and expounding a wrong path. None of these, and the like, can subdue the bodhisattva.

Someone asks:

If he is guarded by the vajra spirit king, does the bodhisattva himself have no strength?

The answer:

The bodhisattva himself also has strength. Moreover, it is because of the bodhisattva's merit that he can cause the vajra spirits to come and guard him; because he is guarded by the vajra spirits, though he has not yet obtained the Dharma body, his merit increases. Moreover, because the gods and spirits are made to see the vajra spirits attending and guarding him, they revere him all the more.

As for ‘complete in the bodhisattva faculties’: if a person is without the five kinds of faculties, the eye and the rest, he is no different from wood or stone; it is because of the power of the five faculties that one can see and can hear. If in the bodhisattva's mind there are not the five faculties of faith and the rest, he is an ordinary person and does not enter the ranks of the noble ones.

Someone asks:

As the Abhidharma Sūtra says: ‘Who accomplishes the five faculties? The answer: one who has not severed his roots of goodness.’ Why now does it say ‘one without the five faculties of faith and the rest is an ordinary person’?

The answer:

Although beings who have not severed their roots of goodness accomplish the five faculties, they cannot bring them into function; just as a small child, although he is accomplished in the afflictions, lust and the rest, cannot yet bring them into function, and so it is said he has none. The five faculties of faith and the rest are also like this: although beings have them, they do not arise and do not function, and so they are not counted.

The five faculties of faith and the rest are of two kinds: first, those belonging to the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; second, those belonging to the Buddha and the bodhisattvas. The five faculties belonging to the path of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha can deeply believe in nirvāṇa, can know by wisdom that the world is impermanent and empty, and can know nirvāṇa as quiescence. The bodhisattva's five faculties can give rise to a deep mind of kindness and compassion toward enemies, the hateful, and evil people, and can also contemplate the real mark of all dharmas, that is, non-arising, non-ceasing, and the rest; though he has not yet attained buddhahood, he can also believe in and accept the Buddha's work.

Moreover, because he has the bodhisattva faculties, he can see, hear, and know the supernormal powers of the buddhas, which the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot reach. As the Sūtra of Inconceivable Liberation says: ‘Although Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti, and the others were at the Buddha's left and right, because they did not have the bodhisattva faculties, they did not see this assembly of great bodhisattvas and all its supernormal powers, nor did they hear the Buddha expound inconceivable liberation.’ Therefore it is said: ‘If the bodhisattva is complete in obtaining these five faculties of faith and the rest, he is called avaivartika.’

Someone asks:

Other sūtras say ‘the deeds of body, speech, and mind of a good person are without evil’, ‘he knows kindness received and repays it’, ‘for the sake of all beings he can himself give up the pleasures of his own body to make beings safe’, ‘when he confers benefit he does not seek a reward’—things such as these are the marks of a superior person; why does it say here only ‘the one matter of practising the unsurpassed path with an undistracted mind is called a superior person’?

The answer:

Here the Buddha himself speaks briefly: a single mind without distraction gathers in all wholesome dharmas entirely. Why? Because he craves the Buddha's path with such weight, all afflictions are broken down and thinned; therefore he deepens his kindness toward beings and can himself give his body and life—how much less would he fail to know to repay kindness, and the like!

Being always single-mindedly mindful of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, because he keeps the precepts purely, he does not practise wrong livelihood, that is, he does not practise spell-craft and does not compound medicines. As for spell-craft: it can hide the body so that people cannot see it, can change people into animals and beasts—all kinds of spell-craft such as these. As for compounding medicines: taking them to seek immortality, and also compounding medicines to treat illness, to seek wealth, and to seek fame. As for casting spells on ghosts: someone wishes to know future matters, and by a spell makes a ghost possess a man or a woman, and asks about good and ill fortune, whether a boy or a girl will be born, the length of life, plenty and happiness, victory and defeat, and the like. If there is one who does these things, it is to gather in beings and break their pride, not for wealth, gain, and fame. Why? Because this person knows that all dharmas are empty of specific marks, he does not see the marks of dharmas—that is, his own body, wife and children, sons and daughters, and so on; because he does not see these marks, he does not practise wrong livelihood.

The above is Fascicle Seventy-Three of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa.

This fascicle is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the remainder of the fifty-sixth chapter, "Turning and Not Turning"—continuing from the previous fascicle—composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin.

Sūtra ②: Now I Shall Further Speak of the Conduct, Kind, and Appearance—Not Speaking of Worldly Matters, Speaking Only of Prajñā

The Buddha said further: ‘Furthermore, Subhūti! Now I shall further speak of the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva; listen single-mindedly and attentively!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, because he is never apart from the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he does not speak of matters of the five aggregates, does not speak of matters of the twelve sense-fields, does not speak of matters of the eighteen elements. Why? Because he constantly thinks on and constantly contemplates the mark of emptiness of the five aggregates, and the mark of emptiness of the twelve sense-fields and the eighteen elements. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not like to speak of matters of officials. Why? Because this bodhisattva abides within the mark of emptiness of all dharmas, and sees no dharma as noble or as base. He does not like to speak of matters of thieves. Why? Because all dharmas are empty of specific marks, he sees nothing gained and nothing lost. He does not like to speak of matters of armies. Why? Because all dharmas are empty of specific marks, he sees neither many nor few. He does not like to speak of matters of fighting. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides within the suchness of all dharmas, and sees no dharma as hateful or as lovable. He does not like to speak of matters of women. Why? Because he abides within the emptiness of all dharmas, and sees neither the beautiful nor the ugly. He does not like to speak of matters of villages. Why? Because all dharmas are empty of specific marks, he sees no dharma as joined or as scattered. He does not like to speak of matters of towns. Why? Because he abides within the real mark of all dharmas, and sees neither victory nor defeat. He does not like to speak of matters of the country. Why? Because he abides within the limit of reality, and sees no dharma as belonging to anything or as not belonging. He does not like to speak of matters of self. Why? Because he abides within the nature of dharmas, and sees no dharma as self or as non-self, and so on up to sees no knower and no seer. In this way and the like, he does not speak of the various worldly matters, but likes only to speak of prajñāpāramitā, and does not stray far from the mind of sarvajñā. When he practises dānapāramitā, he does not engage in matters of stinginess and greed; when he practises śīlapāramitā, he does not engage in matters of breaking precepts; when he practises kṣāntipāramitā, he does not engage in matters of hatred and quarrelling; when he practises vīryapāramitā, he does not engage in matters of laziness; when he practises dhyānapāramitā, he does not engage in matters of distraction; when he practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not engage in matters of folly and delusion. Though this bodhisattva practises the emptiness of all dharmas, he still delights in the Dharma and loves the Dharma. Though this bodhisattva practises within the nature of dharmas, he constantly praises the dharma that is not destroyed, and loves and delights in good friends—that is, the buddhas, and bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas: all who can teach and transform beings and cause people to delight in abiding in anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. This person constantly wishes to see the buddhas; hearing that in a certain land there is a buddha now present, he goes to be born there according to his wish. Such a mind, constantly practised day and night, is what is called the mind of mindfulness of the Buddha. Thus, Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the first dhyāna and so on up to the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, and by the power of skilful means gives rise to a mind of the desire realm, and takes birth where beings can practise the ten wholesome paths and where there is a buddha now present. By such conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Sūtra ② (continued): Abiding in the Emptinesses and Clear about His Own Ground—the Simile of the Srota-āpanna and the Simile of the Five Heinous Sins; within the Ground of Self-Realisation He Never Doubts or Regrets

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he abides within inner emptiness, outer emptiness, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; he abides within the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the gates of liberation of emptiness, the signless, and non-action; he is clear and distinct about the ground in which he himself abides, and does not doubt whether I am avaivartika or not avaivartika. Why? Because he does not see even the least dharma within anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi that either turns or does not turn. Subhūti! It is as when a person has obtained the fruit of the srota-āpanna and abides in the ground of the srota-āpanna: he knows it clearly of himself, and never doubts and never regrets. The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: abiding in the avaivartika ground, he never doubts. Abiding in this ground, he purifies buddha-worlds and brings beings to accomplishment. When the various deeds of Māra arise, he is at once aware of them and knows them; nor does he go along with the deeds of Māra, but breaks the deeds of Māra. Subhūti! It is as when a person has committed the sin of the five heinous sins: that mind of the five heinous sins follows him constantly, even up to the time of his death, and does not leave him; though other thoughts arise in between, they cannot block it off. Subhūti! The avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: he abides of himself in his own ground, his mind is constantly unmoved, and none of the gods, humans, and asuras of all the world can move or turn him. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has already gone out above the gods, humans, and asuras of all the world, has entered the position of the right Dharma, and abides in the ground of self-realisation. He is complete in the supernormal powers of the bodhisattvas, can purify buddha-worlds and bring beings to accomplishment, goes from one buddha-world to another buddha-world, plants roots of goodness in the presence of the buddhas of the ten directions, and draws near to the buddhas and consults the buddhas. This bodhisattva abides like this: when the various deeds of Māra arise, he is aware of them and does not go along with them; by the power of skilful means he sets the deeds of Māra within the limit of reality; within the ground of self-realisation, he does not doubt and does not regret. Why? Because within the limit of reality there is no mark that can be doubted, and he knows that this limit of reality is neither one nor two. Because of such causes and conditions, this person, even when he turns his body and takes birth, never tends toward the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground. Within the emptiness of specific marks of all dharmas, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva sees no dharma as arising or ceasing, as stained or pure. Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, even when he turns his body and takes birth, does not doubt whether I shall obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi or not obtain it. Why? Subhūti! The emptiness of specific marks of all dharmas is itself anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in the ground of self-realisation, does not turn along with others' words, and there is nothing that can break him. Why? Because this avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva has accomplished immovable wisdom. Subhūti! By such conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Sūtra ② (continued): Evil Māra's Three Conjured Trials—Urging Him to Take Arhatship, Giving the Prediction of the Two Vehicles, Slandering the Sūtras and Books He Has Studied

The Buddha said further: Furthermore, Subhūti! As for this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, if evil Māra conjures himself into the body of a Buddha, comes, and says to the bodhisattva: ‘You should take the path of the arhat right here and now. You have no prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, you have not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, you have no such conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika, and you have no mark by which you could receive the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’ Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing these words, is unchanged in mind, does not sink, is not startled, is not afraid, this bodhisattva should know of himself: ‘I shall certainly receive the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi from the buddhas. Why? The bodhisattvas receive the prediction by such dharmas, and I too have such dharmas by which I can receive the prediction.’ Subhūti! Again, if evil Māra, or one sent by Māra, conjures himself into the image of a Buddha, comes, and gives the bodhisattva the prediction of a śrāvaka or a pratyekabuddha—Subhūti! This bodhisattva then thinks thus: ‘This is evil Māra, or one sent by Māra, who has conjured himself into the image of a Buddha and come to speak. The Buddha would not teach a bodhisattva to stray far from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and teach him to abide in the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha.’ Subhūti! By such conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is the mark of the avaivartika.

The Buddha said further: Furthermore, Subhūti! Evil Māra conjures himself into the body of a Buddha, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and speaks thus: ‘The sūtras and books you have studied were not spoken by the Buddha, nor spoken by śrāvakas; they were spoken by Māra.’ Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva should know thus: ‘This is evil Māra, or one sent by Māra, who wishes to make me stray far from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’ Subhūti! Know that this bodhisattva has already been given the prediction by the buddhas of the past, and abides in the avaivartika ground. Why? The conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika that all bodhisattvas have—this bodhisattva too has such conduct, kind, and appearance; this is called the mark of the avaivartika bodhisattva.

Sūtra ② (continued): Not Sparing Body and Life to Protect and Uphold the Dharmas; Hearing the Buddha Expound the Dharma, He Does Not Forget or Lose It—Obtaining the Dhāraṇī of Hearing and Retaining

The Buddha said further: Furthermore, Subhūti! When the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, for the sake of protecting and upholding the dharmas he does not spare even his body and life, how much less other things! For the sake of protecting and upholding the Dharma, this bodhisattva thinks thus: ‘It is not for the sake of protecting and upholding one Buddha's Dharma; it is for the sake of protecting and upholding the Dharma of the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions.’ Subhūti! What is meant by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva not sparing body and life to protect and uphold the Buddha's Dharma? Subhūti! As the Buddha has said: ‘All dharmas are truly empty.’ At that time there are foolish people who break it and do not receive it, and they speak thus: ‘This is not the Dharma, this is not good, this is not the teaching of the World-Honored One!’ Subhūti! For the sake of protecting and upholding such a Dharma, the bodhisattva does not spare body and life. The bodhisattva should also think thus: ‘Among the buddhas of the future I too am in their number, and I too receive the prediction among them; this Dharma is also my Dharma—for this reason I do not spare body and life.’ Subhūti! The bodhisattva sees such benefit, and so protects and upholds this Dharma, not sparing body and life. Subhūti! By such conduct, kind, and appearance, know that this is the mark of the avaivartika.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears the Buddha expound the Dharma, he does not doubt and does not regret; having heard it he receives and upholds it, and never forgets or loses it. Why? Because he has obtained dhāraṇī.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! What kind of dhāraṇī has he obtained, that he hears the various sūtras the Buddha expounds and does not forget or lose them?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Because the bodhisattva has obtained the dhāraṇī of hearing and retaining and the others, when he hears the Buddha expound the various sūtras, he does not forget, does not lose, does not doubt, does not regret.’

Subhūti addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Is it only when he hears the Buddha expound the Dharma that he does not forget, does not lose, does not doubt, does not regret? Or is it that what śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas say, and what gods, nāgas, ghosts and spirits, asuras, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas say, he likewise does not forget, does not lose, does not doubt, does not regret?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Whatever matters of every kind are spoken, the bodhisattva who has obtained dhāraṇī does not forget, does not lose, does not doubt, does not regret any of them. Subhūti! Because such conduct, kind, and appearance are accomplished, know that this is an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Treatise ②: The Buddha Wishes to Speak in Finer Detail of the Marks of the Avaivartika—He Does Not Like to Speak of Fixed Marks, Does Not Like to Speak of Matters of Kings and the Like

The treatise explains:

Because the Buddha was going to speak in still finer detail of the marks of the avaivartika, he told Subhūti: ‘Listen single-mindedly and attentively!’

This bodhisattva is never apart from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; because he delights in practising ultimate emptiness, he does not like to speak of the fixed marks that discriminate the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, and the eighteen elements.

Nor does he like to speak of matters of kings and the like. The other people of the outside paths receive the offerings of others, and because they have no right path, they falsely and deeply cling; their minds are also lazy, and so they talk of the various matters of the country, and discriminate the pleasures of the power and might of the kings of past ages and the like. The avaivartika bodhisattva does not speak of these matters. He sees that the whole world is constantly burned by the fire of impermanence, and that beings are to be pitied: I have not yet obtained the path of the Buddha; I should speak only of the Dharma that ferries beings across, and should not speak of other matters. Because all dharmas are ultimately empty, great marks and small marks are all unfindable. Matters of thieves and the like are also like this. Ultimate emptiness is itself suchness, is itself the nature of dharmas, is itself the limit of reality.

When he practises the six perfections, he does not engage in those six kinds of faults.

Though the bodhisattva abides within the emptiness of all dharmas, he still delights in the Dharma and loves the Dharma. Why? Because this bodhisattva does not cling to this emptiness of all dharmas. Further, I practise the graded dharmas—meditative concentration, wisdom, and the like—and only then obtain the emptiness of all dharmas. This emptiness must not be merely spoken of with the mouth while the mind clings to it; therefore one must first practise the graded dharmas.

Furthermore, because within the nature of dharmas the dharmas are not discriminated, the nature of dharmas is not a mark of destruction. This bodhisattva does not cling to the nature of dharmas; he pities beings and for their sake discriminates in every way wholesome dharmas, unwholesome dharmas, and the like, so that beings can understand; though he speaks thus for beings, he also constantly praises the dharma that is not destroyed, in order to guide beings and cause them to enter the nature of dharmas.

Furthermore, the avaivartika bodhisattva has no other intimates; he takes as intimates only the buddhas and the great bodhisattvas, and those who can praise the Dharma of the real mark.

Because his merit and wisdom are vast, this person goes wherever he wishes; if he wishes to go to the buddha-worlds, he is born there as he wishes. Though this bodhisattva has already separated from desire and obtained the dhyānas and concentrations, by the power of skilful means he is born, for the sake of beings, in a place of the desire realm where there is a buddha now present. What is called ‘born in the desire realm’ is that he deliberately, for the sake of beings, keeps back a portion of love and pride, and is not born in the form realm or the formless realm by the retribution of these meditative concentrations; he only uses meditative concentration to make his mind soft and pliant, and does not receive the retribution of meditative concentration.

Treatise ② (continued): Because He Abides in the Emptinesses, Doubt Does Not Arise—Doubt Means Grasping at a Mark with Something Attained; the Simile of Seeing a Tree Stump at Night

Furthermore, this bodhisattva abides within inner emptiness and the other emptinesses. To abide means to enter deeply and penetrate. Because his mind clings to nothing, he does not give rise to such a doubt as: ‘Am I avaivartika, or am I not avaivartika?’ Because within his own mind he has entered deeply into wisdom, this is called the realisation of his own ground. Further, this person does not see any dharma as turning or not turning, and so doubt does not arise. Doubt means grasping at a mark with something attained. It is as when a person at night sees a tree stump, and then a thought arises that a human form is like this too, and so a doubting mind arises; because he has grasped these two marks, it is called doubt. Because the bodhisattva practises the signless samādhi, he grasps no mark in any dharma, and so there is no place for doubt to arise.

Here the Buddha gives a simile: ‘As the srota-āpanna, from beginningless ages onward, had never obtained this wisdom without outflows; because the three fetters are severed, he knows at once of himself that he has obtained the dharma without outflows, and within the four truths his mind is settled and does not doubt—whether in suffering or in pleasure. The avaivartika is also like this: from beginningless ages onward he had never obtained the real mark of all dharmas, that is, the avaivartika ground; when he obtains it, he likewise does not give rise to doubt.’ Those who give rise to doubt do so because they see things that go against it and fall short, not matching what they had first heard. Because all dharmas are ultimately empty for this bodhisattva, he cannot find any dharma that fails to match what he heard; doubt has no place to abide, and so he is without doubt; he knows of himself that this is the ultimate path, which cannot be disputed and cannot be broken. Abiding in this ground, he teaches and transforms beings and purifies buddha-worlds, and by the power of skilful means he can also break up the various deeds of Māra.

This dharma of the avaivartika constantly follows the bodhisattva, all the way until he becomes a Buddha.

Here the Buddha gives two similes: one is the srota-āpanna, the other is the five heinous sins. Because these two kinds of mind are deep and heavy, they cannot be driven back: the mind of the srota-āpanna never shrinks back; the mind of the five heinous sins is removed only when the retribution of the sin is exhausted. It is as when a person is beset by misfortune: a ghost follows him constantly. The mind of the avaivartika surpasses even this.

What is called ‘the mind of the avaivartika: none at all can move or turn it’ means that when every kind of painful thing presses upon him, it cannot shake him; and every kind of cause and condition of offerings, gain, and pleasure also cannot make him leave the mind of the real mark and the mind of kindness and compassion.

What was said above in its various ways is the appearance of the avaivartika; now his conduct is spoken of—that is, he teaches and transforms beings, purifies buddha-worlds, newly plants roots of goodness in the presence of the buddhas, and from this one Buddha he consults the buddhas about every kind of very deep essential of the Dharma and every kind of gate for ferrying beings across.

When the various deeds of Māra of the ten directions arise, he does not follow them; by the power of skilful means he contemplates these deeds of Māra as like the Buddha's Dharma, and contemplates the bodies of the Māras as like the Buddha's body, without difference. Why? Because all dharmas and the limit of reality are alike of one mark, that is, because they are signless.

When this person turns his body and takes birth, he also does not tend toward the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground. Why? Because when this bodhisattva first obtained the avaivartika ground, he already knew that the real mark of all dharmas is empty; when he turns his body and takes birth, his mind also does not tend toward the ground of the two vehicles. Nor does his mind doubt of itself whether it will obtain the unsurpassed path or not obtain it.

In life after life, there is no one who can subdue this bodhisattva or break him.

Treatise ② (continued): Māra's Three Trials—Urging Him to Take Arhatship, Giving the Prediction of the Two Vehicles, Slandering the Sūtras He Has Studied; on Hearing the Dharma, Marks Appear of Themselves in the Body

To test this bodhisattva, the Buddha makes a comparison: if Māra conjures himself into the body of a Buddha and comes, wishing to deceive and test this bodhisattva, and says to him: ‘You may take arhatship in this very life; you have no mark of the avaivartika by which you could obtain the path of the Buddha; the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising is simply having no dharmas at all—how could there be any acceptance to be obtained within it?’ If the bodhisattva, hearing these words, does not retreat or sink in mind, this bodhisattva knows of himself that he will certainly receive the prediction from the buddhas. Why? Because I have the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and hearing such a deed of Māra my mind is not terrified.

Furthermore, evil Māra, knowing that joy has arisen in the bodhisattva's mind, gives him the prediction of the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha—saying that if in this life he obtains arhatship, in a later life he will obtain the path of the pratyekabuddha. If the bodhisattva does not go along with the words of this conjured body of a Buddha, he is aware and knows that this is Māra, or one sent by Māra. Why? Because the body is the body of a Buddha, but the words are not the words of a Buddha. It is as when one tests a gold coin: flick it once, the sound comes out, and one knows whether it is real or false. As for saying that a Buddha gives a bodhisattva the prediction of a śrāvaka or a pratyekabuddha, there is in the end no such principle! Why? The buddhas, with skilful means of every kind, wish to bring all people entirely into the path of the Buddha; how would they lead a bodhisattva aside and give him the prediction of a śrāvaka?

Furthermore, Māra conjures himself into the body of a Buddha and says to the bodhisattva: ‘The sūtras and books you practise were all spoken by Māra.’ This bodhisattva is aware and knows that this is a deed of Māra; then know that this bodhisattva has already received the prediction and abides within the avaivartika.

Furthermore, because the avaivartika bodhisattva deeply loves and delights in the Dharma, as soon as he hears it his mind goes deeply into it, and the hair on his skin all over his body stands on end; recollecting the Buddha's great compassion, he rejoices and weeps; or within the very deep Dharma great joy arises in him—know that this is an avaivartika. It is as with a great army: when it is routed, the men are terrified and dazed and lie on the ground as if dead; their kin, seeing them and wishing to know whether they still live, flog them with a rod, and if a weal rises they know that they will surely live. The bodhisattva is also like this: all of them are still in fleshly bodies—by what can one know that he will surely become a Buddha? If he hears someone expound the Buddha's Dharma, marks appear in his body—the hair on his skin stands on end, his complexion differs from usual; when other people hear it and it does not enter their minds, they have no such unusual marks, and are no different from dead men.

Treatise ② (continued): Giving Up One's Life for the Dharma—a Madman Slanders Ultimate Emptiness, and He Helps the Dharma without Sparing Body and Life

Because this bodhisattva deeply loves the Dharma, he can give up body and life for the Dharma. Suppose a Buddha, or a disciple of the Buddha, in a great assembly expounds by every kind of cause and condition that all dharmas are ultimately empty; and there is a madman who grasps at the marks of sounds and names, clings to this ultimate emptiness, and brings forth its faults: ‘If all dharmas are entirely ultimately empty, then there is no Buddha, no Dharma, no causes and conditions of deeds of sin and merit, and no retribution of attaining the fruit of the path by practising with vigour!’ In this way he brings forth measureless faults. The avaivartika bodhisattva observes and weighs it, and knows that the expounder of the Dharma speaks with a mind without clinging, in accord with the Buddha's words, out of pity for beings; he knows that the madman clings to words and grasps at marks, and so breaks this ultimate emptiness. At that time the avaivartika gives up his life to help, saying: ‘These are a madman's words! This is a person of wrong view! He himself is sunk in wrong view, and moreover transforms many people so that they fall into wrong view, destroying the Buddha's Dharma.’ That madman, because he harbours deep hatred, either kills him himself or sends his disciples to kill him. At that time, even if the matter of death arrives, for the sake of helping the right Dharma the bodhisattva does not, out of terror, ruin and lose the nature of dharmas.

Here the Buddha states the cause and condition, and the bodhisattva thinks thus: ‘Among the buddhas of the future I too am in their number; this Dharma is also my Dharma; because it is my Dharma, I do not spare body and life, and guard it.’ He further reflects thus: ‘In measureless lives, because of the afflictions and wrong views, I have lost my body countless times; now, for the Dharma of the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, I help and bring it forth—to die with benefit is better than to live without benefit.’ In this way, for the sake of the Dharma, he does not spare body and life.

Treatise ② (continued): The Two Dhāraṇī of Hearing and Retaining and of Severing Doubt; He Can Retain What Others Say as Well—What Has Reason in It He Can Believe; What Has No Reason in It He Retains but Does Not Believe

Furthermore, though this bodhisattva has not yet accomplished the path of the Buddha, when he hears the very deep Dharma from the Buddha, he can receive all of it and not forget or lose it. By the power of faith he can receive it; by the power of the dhāraṇī of hearing and retaining he does not lose it; by the power of the dhāraṇī of severing doubt he does not doubt it.

Subhūti asked: ‘Is it only on hearing the words the Buddha speaks that he can believe, receive, and retain them without doubt? Is it likewise on hearing other words?’

The Buddha said: ‘Whatever is spoken, he can retain all of it, whether from the two vehicles, from the gods, from the nāgas, and so on.’ If what is said has reason in it, he can believe it, can retain it, and does not doubt it; what has no reason in it, he retains without doubting, yet does not believe and receive it.

Furthermore, someone says: what is believed is a wrong dharma; that what one does not doubt is not good—only that is good.

Someone else says: what the gods, the nāgas, and the two vehicles say is all the Buddha's Dharma.

This is the mark of the avaivartika: as soon as he hears, he can retain it, without doubt and without regret. Though this bodhisattva has not yet become a Buddha, within the real mark of all dharmas he has no doubt at all.

Such conduct, kind, and appearance and the like are the avaivartika bodhisattva.

Treatise ② (continued): From When Is One Called Avaivartika—Three Accounts Set Side by Side, Returning to the Acceptance of Non-arising and Entering the Bodhisattva's Position

It is asked:

Having obtained what matter, from then on is one called avaivartika?

The answer:

In the Abhidharma Vibhāṣā it is said: ‘After three asaṃkhyeya kalpas have passed, one plants the causes and conditions of the thirty-two marks.’ From then on one is called avaivartika.

In the Vinaya Avadāna it is said: ‘From the time he saw Dīpaṃkara Buddha, scattered five stalks of flowers over the Buddha, and spread his hair on the ground, the Buddha gave him the prediction of the avaivartika; he then leapt up into the sky and praised the Buddha in verse.’ From then on, he is called avaivartika.

In this prajñāpāramitā, however, it is said: if the bodhisattva practises the six perfections in full, obtains the power of wisdom and skilful means, and does not cling to this pāramitā of ultimate emptiness; contemplates all dharmas as non-arising and non-ceasing, not increased and not decreased, neither stained nor pure, not coming and not going, neither one nor different, neither permanent nor annihilated, neither existent nor non-existent; by the illumination of this wisdom he breaks such measureless dharmas that stand in pairs, each depending on the other, and all the impermanent marks of arising, ceasing, and the like. Earlier, by the contemplation of impermanence and the like, he broke the inversions of permanence and the like; now he also lets go of non-arising and non-ceasing and the like, lets go of the contemplation of impermanence and the like, and does not cling even to non-arising and non-ceasing, nor does he fall into emptiness, into nothing whatsoever; he also knows that this mark of non-arising and non-ceasing is unfindable and cannot be clung to, and yet he believes, receives, and makes use of this dharma of non-arising and non-ceasing. Within the true wisdom of the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions, by the power of faith he penetrates without obstruction—this is called the bodhisattva obtaining the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, entering the bodhisattva's position, and being called avaivartika.

Treatise ② (continued): Because the Marks Are Not Yet Complete, the Prediction Is Not Given; the Two Kinds of Body and the Two Kinds of Fleshly Body; One Who Reads, Recites, and Accords Is Not Yet Called Avaivartika

Though this bodhisattva is called avaivartika from the first arousing of the mind onward, because the marks of the avaivartika are not yet complete, the Buddha does not give him the prediction. Why? Because the sages among the outside paths, the gods, the small bodhisattvas, and others would think thus: ‘What matter did the Buddha see in this person that he gave him the prediction? This person does not yet abide in the causes and conditions of the path of the Buddha; how can he be given the prediction?’ For this reason, the Buddha does not yet give him the prediction.

This bodhisattva is of two kinds: one is the fleshly body within birth and death, the other is the body born of the Dharma-nature. Having obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, he has severed the afflictions; after letting go of this body, he obtains the body born of the Dharma-nature. The avaivartika in a fleshly body is also of two kinds: there are those who receive the prediction in the presence of a Buddha; there are those who receive the prediction not in the presence of a Buddha—if, at a time when no Buddha is in the world, one obtains the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, this is receiving the prediction not in the presence of a Buddha.

It is asked:

If so, suppose someone reads, recites, expounds, and rightly recollects, according with the meaning of the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, yet this person has not yet obtained meditative concentration, and either gives rise to a doubting mind or is drawn along by a clinging mind—what kind of bodhisattva is a person of this kind? Is he avaivartika or not?

The answer:

This person is not called avaivartika. The avaivartika bodhisattva has no doubt even within the very deep Dharma of the Buddha, how much less about the acceptance of non-arising, this first gate of the Dharma!

Those who have not yet obtained the avaivartika are of two kinds: one has little faith and much doubt, the other has little doubt and much faith. The one with much doubt and little faith is somewhat better than one who only reads and recites the sūtras; the one with much faith and little doubt, if he obtains meditative concentration, at once obtains compliant acceptance; because he has not yet severed love of dharmas, he may give rise to a clinging mind, or may again retreat and sink. If this person constantly cultivates this compliant acceptance, then because compliant acceptance grows, he severs love of dharmas, obtains the acceptance of non-arising, and enters the bodhisattva's position.

The above is the meaning of the marks of the avaivartika, briefly explained.

This fascicle is titled Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on Chapter Fifty-Seven, "The Lamp-wick" (Fascicle Seventy-Four).

Sūtra ①: The Merit of the Avaivartika Is Immeasurable and Boundless; the Twelve Names of the Profound Place; All Dharmas Are Profound because of Suchness; Leaving Form and Dwelling in Nirvāṇa; the Simile of the Man of Lust Thinking of a Woman

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva has accomplished great merit! World-Honored One! This avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva has accomplished immeasurable merit, has accomplished boundless merit!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just so! Just so! This avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes great merit! This avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes immeasurable, boundless merit! Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has obtained immeasurable, boundless wisdom, not shared with any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha. The avaivartika bodhisattva abides in this wisdom and gives rise to the four unobstructed knowledges; because he has obtained these unobstructed knowledges, among all the gods and humans of the world there is no one who can question him to the end.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The Buddha could, for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges, praise and proclaim the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! What is the profound place, abiding in which the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva, when he practises the six perfections, can fulfil the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to fulfilling the omniscience of all kinds?’

The Buddha praised Subhūti: ‘Good! Good! Subhūti! You are able to ask about this profound place for the sake of the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Subhūti! As for the profound place, emptiness is its meaning; the signless, non-action, non-origination, non-arising, non-staining, separation, quiescence, suchness, the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, nirvāṇa. Subhūti! Dharmas such as these are the profound meaning.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Is it only emptiness and so on up to nirvāṇa that is profound, and not all dharmas that are profound?’

The Buddha said: ‘All dharmas too are the profound meaning. Subhūti! Form too is profound, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too are profound; the eye too is profound, and so on up to the mind; form and so on up to dharmas; the eye element and so on up to the mind-consciousness element; dānapāramitā and so on up to prajñāpāramitā; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening) are all profound too.’

‘World-Honored One! Why is form profound, and so on up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi also profound?’

The Buddha said: ‘Because the suchness of form is profound, therefore form is profound; because the suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the suchness of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, is profound, therefore anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is profound.’

‘World-Honored One! Why is the suchness of form profound, and so on up to the suchness of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi profound?’

‘Subhūti! This suchness of form is not form and is not apart from form; and so on up to the suchness of consciousness, which is not consciousness and is not apart from consciousness; and so on up to the suchness of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, which is not anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and is not apart from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘Rare indeed! Because of the power of subtle skilful means, the World-Honored One can cause the avaivartika bodhisattva to leave form and dwell in nirvāṇa, and also cause him to leave feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness and dwell in nirvāṇa; and also cause him to leave all dharmas—whether worldly or world-transcending, with contention or without contention, with outflows or without outflows—and dwell in nirvāṇa.’

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! Subhūti! Because of the power of subtle skilful means, the Buddha can cause the avaivartika bodhisattva to leave form and dwell in nirvāṇa, and so on up to leaving the dharmas with outflows and without outflows and dwelling in nirvāṇa. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with such very deep dharmas, is in accord with prajñāpāramitā, observes, reckons, and considers, and has this thought—I should practise thus, as is taught in prajñāpāramitā; I should train thus, as is said in prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! If this bodhisattva-mahāsattva can practise as it is said, train as it is said, and contemplate as is taught in prajñāpāramitā, and is complete in diligent vigour, then at the moment a single thought arises he should obtain immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya merit; this bodhisattva-mahāsattva passes beyond immeasurable kalpas and draws near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; how much more one who constantly practises prajñāpāramitā, thought after thought in accord with anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! Subhūti! As when a man of much lust makes an appointment with a beautiful, clean, and comely woman; this woman is held back by some matter and cannot go at the appointed time. What do you think, Subhūti? Where do this man's thoughts fall?’

‘World-Honored One! This man's thoughts, thought after thought, are always where that woman is; he constantly has this thought, recollecting and imagining that in future he will sit and lie down and take pleasure together with her.’

‘Subhūti! In one day and one night, how many thoughts arise in this man?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! In one day and one night this man's thoughts are very many!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who is mindful of prajñāpāramitā, and practises this path as is said in prajñāpāramitā, in the space of a single thought passes beyond a number of kalpas, just as many as the number of that man's thoughts in one day and one night. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising prajñāpāramitā, stays far from all kinds of fault, namely the fault of leaving anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising prajñāpāramitā, obtains in a single day roots of goodness and merit such that, even if one were to fill it up with the other merit in three-thousand great-thousand worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges, it still could not be diminished; those other remaining merits do not reach one part in a hundred of it, nor one part in a thousand, nor one part in a thousand koṭi of myriads, and so on up to where calculation and simile cannot compare.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Treatise ①: The Four Kinds of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges; Why Emptiness Is Deep; Two Explanations of Emptiness and the Middle Way That Leaves the Two Extremes; the Simile of the Clay Pot; the Two Vehicles Have No Merit of Retribution; Deep and Shallow Fields of Merit and Continuity Thought after Thought; the Simile of the Mild Medicine and the Medicine of Great Strength

The treatise-author explains:

When Subhūti heard the marks of the avaivartika, he heard along with them the merit of the avaivartika, and his mind greatly rejoiced; because he wished to praise the merit of the avaivartika, he said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The avaivartika accomplishes great merit! He accomplishes immeasurable, boundless merit!’

The Buddha approved what he praised, and went further, himself setting out the causes and conditions of the great merit and the rest, namely what is said: ‘The avaivartika bodhisattva has obtained immeasurable, boundless wisdom, not practised in common with the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas’—one must first know, and only afterwards can one practise; having practised, only then does one receive and use its merit. For this reason he states the cause and condition of the merit: it is because the wisdom is immeasurable and boundless. What is called wisdom is prajñāpāramitā. The bodhisattva abides in this prajñāpāramitā and can give rise to the four unobstructed knowledges: within the real meaning of all dharmas, his wisdom is unobstructed and unhindered; having known the meaning without obstruction, he then distinguishes the names of all kinds of dharmas, for the sake of explaining the meaning—this is called the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas; these names depend on language, and it is because of language that these various names can be brought out—this is called the unobstructed knowledge of expression; because he has obtained this unobstructed knowledge of dharmas and unobstructed knowledge of expression, he then delights in explaining the real meaning of all dharmas—this is called the unobstructed knowledge of delight in speaking. When this bodhisattva abides in the four unobstructed knowledges, of all the questions and challenges of beings, none can question him to the end; just as the water of the great ocean cannot be ladled dry.

Subhūti had heard the Buddha, in the two chapters above, speak of the complete marks of the avaivartika; on entering this chapter, the Buddha only now opens the gate of the four unobstructed knowledges, and is going to speak further of the marks of the avaivartika. Therefore Subhūti praised the Buddha: ‘The wisdom of the World-Honored One is immeasurable and boundless, and the merit of the avaivartika is also immeasurable and boundless. If the Buddha were to delight in speaking for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges, the delight in speaking could not be exhausted, and the appearance of the avaivartika could not be exhausted either.’

‘World-Honored One! What is the profound place of the avaivartika? Abiding in this profound place, the avaivartika bodhisattva can fulfil the six perfections, the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds.’

The Buddha praised Subhūti: ‘Good! You are able to ask about the profound meaning for the sake of the avaivartika bodhisattva.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Emptiness and the rest, and so on up to nirvāṇa—this is called profound.’

Someone asks:

When all kinds of existent dharmas are finely distinguished, people cannot understand them, and so there is what is called deep; emptiness is without anything existent—on what ground does it count as deep?

The answer:

It is not empty merely because the mouth says the name; rather, having distinguished and understood all kinds of marks of existence, within one sees no self, and without one sees no fixed, real dharma. Having obtained this emptiness, one contemplates the marks of all dharmas as all false and deceptive, bearing all kinds of faults and offences. If one has extinguished the marks, one no longer vows to be born into the three realms. This emptiness is the emptiness of attaining the path, not merely what the mouth says; therefore it is called deep.

Furthermore, emptiness too is empty; if one clings to this emptiness, there is a fault, and this is not called deep. If emptiness comes forth from breaking the existence of wrong views, only then is it deep; and because within emptiness one does not cling to emptiness either, it is also deep.

Furthermore, contemplating the arising and ceasing of the five aggregates refutes the inversion of permanence; contemplating ultimate emptiness refutes arising and ceasing. Why? Because within emptiness there is no impermanence and no arising and ceasing. Non-arising and non-ceasing are of two kinds: first, people of wrong view say the world is permanent, and so there is no arising and ceasing; second, because arising and ceasing are refuted, it is said there is no arising and ceasing. Here arising and ceasing are refuted, and yet one does not cling to this non-arising and non-ceasing either; therefore it is called deep. All kinds of afflictions are hard to remove entirely; therefore it is said: freedom from desire and quiescence are deep. Error is easy and the real is hard; therefore suchness, the nature of dharmas, and the limit of reality count as deep. Nirvāṇa is what the Brahmā gods and the rest, the ninety-six kinds of paths, cannot reach; therefore it is deep. Furthermore, within nirvāṇa, all who have attained the path, once they have entered, never come out again; therefore it is deep.

Someone asks:

Here it is said that emptiness and the other dharmas are deep; which kind of emptiness is this?

The answer:

Someone says: it is the three samādhi—emptiness, the signless, non-action; a mental-factor dharma is called concentration, and because there is concentration, one can contemplate dharmas as empty.

Someone says: the outer objects, form and all kinds of dharmas, are all empty; because one takes as object the emptiness of the outer sphere, it is called the emptiness samādhi.

Here the Buddha says: ‘It is not empty because of the emptiness samādhi, nor is it empty because of the outer objects, form and all kinds of dharmas.’ Why? If outer dharmas were not really empty, but were made empty by the power of samādhi, this would be false and unreal. If the samādhi arises because one takes as object the emptiness of the outer sphere, this too is not right! Why is this said? If form and the other dharmas were really of the mark of emptiness, they could not give rise to the emptiness samādhi; if the emptiness samādhi has arisen, then it is not empty. Here it is said: leaving these two extremes one speaks the middle way, namely what is said: dharmas arise from the coming together of causes and conditions, and in these dharmas that come together there is no fixed dharma; therefore they are empty. Why? Dharmas born of causes and conditions have no self-nature; having no self-nature, they are ultimate emptiness. This ultimate emptiness has been empty from the beginning; it is not made by the Buddha, nor made by anyone else; it is for the sake of beings who can be delivered that the buddhas speak this mark of ultimate emptiness. This mark of emptiness is the real substance of all dharmas; it is not because of inner or outer that it exists.

This emptiness has all kinds of names, namely what are called the signless, non-action, quiescence, separation, nirvāṇa, and the rest.

Subhūti knew that the bodhisattvas were of keen faculties and deeply clung to nirvāṇa, and for the sake of these bodhisattvas he asked the World-Honored One: ‘Is it only nirvāṇa that is very deep, and the other dharmas not very deep?’

The Buddha answered: ‘By rightly contemplating form and all dharmas one obtains nirvāṇa; form and the other dharmas are very deep because of nirvāṇa.’ Therefore the sūtra says: ‘Form and the rest are very deep because of suchness.’ The suchness of form and the rest is right contemplation.

Subhūti asked: ‘Why are form and the other dharmas very deep because of the suchness of form and the rest?’

Here the Buddha himself sets out the cause and condition of the depth, namely what is said: ‘Suchness is not form and is not apart from form.’ As when clay is made into a pot: the clay is not the pot, yet there is no pot apart from the clay, nor can one say there is no pot.

Subhūti knew that this dharma of causes and conditions is very deep, like the great ocean that has no bottom, and so he praised it, saying: ‘Rare indeed! World-Honored One! Because of the power of subtle skilful means, the Buddha causes the bodhisattva to leave form and all dharmas and dwell in nirvāṇa, yet not cling to nirvāṇa, and not abide in the world either; this is subtle skilful means.’

The Buddha approved what he said, and praised the retribution-merit of the bodhisattva who practises the real mark of all dharmas, telling Subhūti: ‘When such very deep dharmas are in accord with prajñā, and a single thought of observing, reckoning, and the rest arises, one obtains immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya merit.’

Someone asks:

Even the dharmas without outflows of the two vehicles have no merit of retribution; how much less the contemplation of ultimate emptiness of the Great Vehicle—how could it instead obtain immeasurable merit! Moreover, merit is born from great kindness and compassion that pities beings, just as sinful deeds too are incurred by vexing and harming beings.

The answer:

Because in the mind without outflows of the two vehicles the afflictions are already exhausted, there is no merit of retribution; the bodhisattva's afflictions are not yet exhausted, and so he should have the retribution of merit.

Furthermore, because the two vehicles take realisation at the limit of reality, they burn up all their merits; the bodhisattva does not take realisation, and because he still has a later existence to be born into, he has merit.

Furthermore, because people err about the real matter, their merit is small; because one rightly practises in the real matter, the merit obtained is great. As when giving to an animal yields a hundredfold, giving to an evil person yields a thousandfold, giving to a good person yields a hundred-thousandfold, giving to a person free from desire yields a hundred-thousand-koṭi-fold, and giving to the noble ones, the srota-āpanna and the rest, yields immeasurable merit. Although ordinary people may be free from desire and practise a mind of kindness and compassion, because they cannot obtain the real mark of all dharmas, they cannot become an immeasurable field of merit; although the srota-āpanna is not yet free from desire, because he distinguishes the real mark of all dharmas, as a field of merit he is immeasurable. The real mark of all dharmas is obtained deeply or shallowly; therefore, because the bodhisattva enters deeply into the real mark, the merit within a single thought is immeasurable and boundless. Here, because the merit is great in thought after thought, a simile is told: although the minds of beings arise and cease thought after thought, it is only because they arise in continuity that one does not notice them ceasing at once. The mind of the man of lust clings deeply to what he desires, and because he cannot have his wish, his mind gives rise to recollection and grasps at marks, and in all kinds of ways discriminates the causes and conditions of her not coming—did that woman regret it in her own mind and not come? Or was she blocked by someone and did not come? Thus he gives rise to many minds of initial and sustained thought. Such a mind is easy to notice and know, and so it is taken as a simile. Thus the matter of causes and conditions within a single thought passes beyond a kalpa. As when a person takes a mild medicine and is cured of the illness only after a year, but takes a medicine of great strength and can be cured in a single day. The bodhisattva is also like this: one who practises the five perfections becomes a Buddha only after a very, very long time; one who practises prajñāpāramitā attains buddhahood very quickly.

Furthermore, as for the merit of practising prajñāpāramitā for one day, if it had a bodily shape, and one took the merit in three-thousand great-thousand worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges to fill it up, the substance of the true merit practised within this one day would still not be diminished; compared with this merit, those do not reach one part in a hundred, and so on up to where calculation and simile cannot compare.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Sūtra ②: The Sevenfold Weighing of far removed from Prajñā; Dharmas Arising from Causes and Conditions Are False and Deceptive, yet Great Merit Is Obtained; the Eighteen Emptinesses; the Three Meanings of Countless, Immeasurable, and Boundless; All Dharmas Cannot Be Spoken; the Meaning That Cannot Be Spoken Has Neither Increase nor Decrease; the Mark of Suchness of All Dharmas Is Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi

‘Again, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, far removed from prajñāpāramitā, for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges gives to the Three Jewels—the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, the Jewel of the Bhikṣu Saṅgha. Subhūti! What do you think? Is the merit this bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains through this cause and condition great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Very great! Immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘It does not equal the merit the bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains who for a single day practises as taught within the deep prajñāpāramitā; that merit is greater. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā is the path of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas; riding this path, they quickly obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva, far removed from prajñāpāramitā, for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges makes offerings to the srota-āpanna, the sakṛdāgāmin, the anāgāmin, the arhat, the pratyekabuddha, and the buddhas. Subhūti! What do you think? Is the merit this bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains through this cause and condition great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Very great!’

The Buddha said: ‘It does not equal the merit this bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains within a single day by practising as taught in the deep prajñāpāramitā; that merit is greater. Why? Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises this prajñāpāramitā passes beyond all the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha grounds, enters the bodhisattva's position, and gradually obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, far removed from prajñāpāramitā, for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges practises giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom. What do you think? Is the merit this person obtains through this cause and condition great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Very great!’

The Buddha said: ‘It does not equal the merit this bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains who practises prajñāpāramitā and practises as taught, by giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom within a single day; that merit is greater. Why? Subhūti! Because prajñāpāramitā is the mother of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, this prajñāpāramitā can give birth to the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, abiding in prajñāpāramitā, can fulfil all the dharmas of the Buddha. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, far removed from prajñāpāramitā, practises the gift of Dharma for a lifespan of kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Subhūti! What do you think? Is the merit this person obtains great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘Very great! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha said: ‘It does not equal the merit this good man or good woman obtains by practising as taught in the deep prajñāpāramitā, by the gift of Dharma even within a single day; that merit is greater. Why? Subhūti! Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, not far removed from prajñāpāramitā, does not stay far from the omniscience of all kinds; not far removed from the omniscience of all kinds, he does not stay far from prajñāpāramitā. For this reason, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi should not stay far from prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges, stays far from prajñāpāramitā and cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path, inner emptiness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds. Subhūti! What do you think? Is the merit this good man or good woman obtains great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Very great!’

The Buddha said: ‘It does not equal the merit this good man or good woman obtains by cultivating, as taught in the deep prajñāpāramitā, within a single day, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds; that merit is greater. Why? Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not stay far from prajñāpāramitā and yet retrogresses from sarvajñā, there is no such thing! Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva stays far from prajñāpāramitā and retrogresses from sarvajñā, then there is such a thing. Subhūti! For this reason the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should never stay far from the practice of prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, far removed from prajñāpāramitā, for a lifespan of kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges dedicates the merit of the gift of wealth, the gift of Dharma, and meditative concentration to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. What do you think? Is the merit this person obtains great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Very great! Very great!’

The Buddha said: ‘It does not equal the merit this good man or good woman obtains by practising as taught in the deep prajñāpāramitā, and even within a single day dedicating the merit of the gift of wealth, the gift of Dharma, and meditative concentration to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; that merit is greater. Why? Because this is the foremost dedication, namely what is called the dedication of prajñāpāramitā. If one dedicates while far removed from prajñāpāramitā, this is not called dedication. Subhūti! For this reason the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi should by skilful means train in the dedication of prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! If the good man or good woman, far removed from prajñāpāramitā, for a lifespan of kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges brings together the roots of goodness of the buddhas of the past, future, and present and of their disciples, and rejoicing dedicates them to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! What do you think? Is the merit this person obtains great or not?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Very great!’

The Buddha said: ‘It does not equal the merit this good man or good woman obtains by practising as taught in the deep prajñāpāramitā, and even within a single day rejoicing in roots of goodness and dedicating them to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; that merit is greater. Subhūti! For this reason the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi should train in the skilful means within prajñāpāramitā of dedicating to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! As the Buddha has said, dharmas arising from causes and conditions are born from false thinking and are not real. How then does the good man or good woman obtain great merit? World-Honored One! By these dharmas arising from causes and conditions, one should not obtain right view and enter the position of dharmas, should not obtain the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to should not obtain the fruit of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just so! Just so! Subhūti! By these dharmas arising from causes and conditions, one should not obtain right view and enter the position of dharmas, and so on up to should not obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā knows that dharmas arising from causes and conditions are also empty, without firmness, false and deceptive and unreal. Why? Subhūti! Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has trained well in inner emptiness and so on up to having trained well in the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding in these eighteen emptinesses, contemplates in all kinds of ways that made dharmas are empty, and then does not stay far from prajñāpāramitā. If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva in this way gradually does not leave prajñāpāramitā, he gradually obtains countless, immeasurable, boundless merit.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Countless, immeasurable, boundless—what is the difference?’

‘Subhūti! Countless means not falling within number—whether within the conditioned nature or within the unconditioned nature. Immeasurable means that measure is unfindable, whether past, future, or present. Boundless means that the limits of dharmas are unfindable.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Is there a way in which form too is countless, immeasurable, boundless? Is there a way in which feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too are countless, immeasurable, boundless?’

‘Subhūti! There are such causes and conditions: form too is countless, immeasurable, boundless, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too are countless, immeasurable, boundless.’

‘World-Honored One! Through what causes and conditions is form too countless, immeasurable, boundless, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too countless, immeasurable, boundless?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Because form is empty, it is countless, immeasurable, boundless; because feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are empty, they are countless, immeasurable, boundless.’

‘World-Honored One! Is it only form that is empty, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that are empty, and not all dharmas that are empty?’

‘Subhūti! Have I not said that all dharmas are empty?’

Subhūti said: ‘The World-Honored One says that all dharmas are empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of dharmas is inexhaustible, without number, immeasurable, boundless. World-Honored One! Within emptiness number is unfindable, measure is unfindable, limit is unfindable. For this reason, World-Honored One! The meanings of this inexhaustible, countless, immeasurable, boundless have no difference.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just so! Just so! The meanings of this dharma have no distinction or difference. Subhūti! This dharma cannot be spoken; it is by the power of skilful means that the Buddha distinguishes and explains it, namely what is called inexhaustible, countless, immeasurable, boundless, non-clinging, emptiness, non-perception, non-action, non-origination, non-arising, non-ceasing, non-staining, nirvāṇa. The Buddha speaks by all kinds of causes and conditions, using the power of skilful means.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘Rare indeed! World-Honored One! The real mark of all dharmas cannot be spoken, and yet the Buddha can speak it by the power of skilful means. World-Honored One! As I understand the meaning of what the Buddha says, all dharmas too cannot be spoken.’

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! Subhūti! All dharmas cannot be spoken. The mark of all dharmas that cannot be spoken is emptiness, and this emptiness cannot be spoken.’

‘World-Honored One! Does the meaning that cannot be spoken have increase or decrease?’

The Buddha said: ‘No! Subhūti! The meaning that cannot be spoken has neither increase nor decrease.’

‘World-Honored One! If the meaning that cannot be spoken has neither increase nor decrease, then dānapāramitā too should have neither increase nor decrease, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā too should have neither increase nor decrease; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path too should have neither increase nor decrease; the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, the five supernormal powers, the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive absorptions, the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, the eighteen unshared dharmas too should have neither increase nor decrease. World-Honored One! If the six perfections of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva do not increase, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas do not increase, how then can the bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! Subhūti! The meaning that cannot be spoken has neither increase nor decrease. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who cultivates prajñāpāramitā, because he has the power of skilful means, does not have this thought—I increase prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to I increase dānapāramitā; rather he should have this thought—it is only because of a name that it is called dānapāramitā. When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises dānapāramitā, this mind and the roots of goodness are all dedicated in accordance with the mark of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and so on up to when he practises prajñāpāramitā, this mind and the roots of goodness are all dedicated in accordance with the mark of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

The Buddha said: ‘The mark of suchness of all dharmas—this is called anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How is the mark of suchness of all dharmas anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The mark of suchness of form, the mark of suchness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the mark of suchness of nirvāṇa—this is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. This mark of suchness too neither increases nor decreases. Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not leave prajñāpāramitā; he constantly contemplates this dharma of suchness and sees no increase and no decrease. Because of this cause and condition, Subhūti! The meaning that cannot be spoken has neither increase nor decrease, dānapāramitā too neither increases nor decreases, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas too neither increase nor decrease. Subhūti! Because of this dharma that neither increases nor decreases, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should practise in accord with prajñāpāramitā.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Treatise ②: The Superior Causes and Conditions of the Sevenfold Weighing; the Simile of the Vajra Shattering a Mountain; the Eighteen Emptinesses and Teaching the Dharma by Skilful Means; Glosses on the Three Meanings; Whence the Names of the Real Mark of All Dharmas; the Meaning That Cannot Be Spoken Has Neither Increase nor Decrease; the Suchness of All Dharmas Is the Mark of Quiescence of the Unsurpassed Path

The treatise-author explains:

To make offerings to the Three Jewels for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges while apart from prajñāpāramitā does not equal practising prajñā for a single day. Again, if someone lives on for a lifespan of kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges making offerings to the srota-āpanna and the rest, this too does not equal practising prajñā for a single day. Here the Buddha himself sets out the cause and condition: ‘The bodhisattva who practises prajñā passes beyond the two grounds, enters the bodhisattva's position, and accomplishes the unsurpassed path.’

Again, there is one who, far removed from prajñā, practises giving and the rest of the six dharmas for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges; this too does not equal one who for a single day, as taught, abides in prajñā and practises giving and the rest of the six dharmas. Here the superior cause and condition is set out: ‘Prajñā is the mother of the buddhas; abiding in this prajñā, one can fulfil the dharmas of the buddhas.’

If, far removed from prajñā, one practises the gift of Dharma for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges, it does not equal abiding in prajñā for a single day and practising the gift of Dharma. Furthermore, far removed from prajñā and cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness by the dharmas of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges does not equal abiding in prajñā for a single day, as taught, and cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness; and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, it is likewise. Here the superior cause and condition is itself set out, namely what is said: ‘Not to leave prajñā and yet to retrogress from sarvajñā—there is no such thing.’

Furthermore, for the bodhisattva, apart from prajñā, to dedicate to the unsurpassed path, for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges, the merit born of the gift of wealth, the gift of Dharma, and meditative concentration does not equal dedicating to the unsurpassed path, for a single day, in accord with prajñā, the merit born of the gift of wealth, the gift of Dharma, and meditative concentration. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā is not mixed with poison and is the right dedication.

Furthermore, if the bodhisattva, apart from prajñā, lives on for a lifespan of kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges, rejoicing in the merit of the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times and dedicating it to the unsurpassed path, it does not equal rejoicing and dedicating for a single day in accord with prajñā.

At that time Subhūti challenged the Buddha: ‘As the Buddha has said, all conditioned dharmas are false and deceptive and unreal, like illusions and transformations, and cannot give rise to right view or enter the right position; why then is the bodhisattva's merit of a single day superior?’

The Buddha approved his words: ‘Just so! Just so! Conditioned dharmas are all false and deceptive; one cannot by false and deceptive dharmas enter the right position and obtain the noble path. When the bodhisattva practises prajñāpāramitā, as for the merit he makes, he knows that it is all false and deceptive, empty, without firmness, and his mind does not cling to this merit. Because this merit is pure, it surpasses the other merits.’ It is just as the vajra, though small, can shatter a great mountain.

Here the Buddha says: ‘The bodhisattva has trained well in the eighteen emptinesses.’ Though he contemplates emptiness, he can practise all kinds of merit; though he knows nirvāṇa and the unsurpassed path, because he pities beings he cultivates and gathers merit. Though he knows that the marks of all dharmas cannot be spoken, he teaches the Dharma for beings by all kinds of skilful means; though he knows that within the nature of dharmas there is no discrimination, one mark, the signless, yet for beings he distinguishes: this is wholesome, this is not wholesome; this may be practised, this may not be practised; this is to be taken up, this is to be given up; this is gain, this is loss; and the like.

If the bodhisattva, though he contemplates ultimate emptiness, can give rise to all kinds of merit, this is called practising without leaving prajñāpāramitā.

If the bodhisattva constantly does not leave prajñāpāramitā, he gradually obtains countless, immeasurable, boundless merit. Why? Because when the bodhisattva first trains in prajñā, the power of the afflictions is strong and the power of prajñā is weak; gradually he obtains the power of prajñā, severs the afflictions, and extinguishes all idle discourse; therefore the merit he obtains is countless, immeasurable, boundless. The meanings of countless, immeasurable, boundless the Buddha himself distinguished and explained. Countless means not falling within the conditioned nature or within the unconditioned nature. The measure of the three times is unfindable, therefore it is called immeasurable. The limits of the ten directions are unfindable, therefore it is called boundless.

Subhūti asked the Buddha: ‘Are there causes and conditions by which the five aggregates too are countless, immeasurable, boundless?’

The Buddha answered: ‘There are! Because the five aggregates are empty, they too are countless, immeasurable, boundless.’

Subhūti asked: ‘World-Honored One! Is it only the five aggregates that are empty, and not all dharmas that are empty?’

The Buddha answered: ‘All dharmas are empty.’

Subhūti said: ‘This dharma of emptiness is inexhaustible; because it is inexhaustible it is countless; being countless it is immeasurable; being immeasurable it is boundless. Therefore within emptiness, exhaustion is unfindable, therefore it is called without exhaustion; number is unfindable, therefore it is called countless; measure is unfindable, therefore it is called immeasurable; limit is unfindable, therefore it is called boundless.’ Though the names of these four matters differ, the meaning is one, namely what is called ultimate emptiness.

The Buddha approved his words: ‘Just so!’ And he went further, himself setting out the causes and conditions: ‘Subhūti! This mark of the dharma of emptiness cannot be spoken; if it cannot be spoken, it is not called emptiness. Because the Buddha, with a mind of great kindness and compassion, pities beings, he explains it for them by skilful means, forcibly setting up names and words so that beings can understand—what is called emptiness is at times spoken of as inexhaustible, countless, immeasurable, boundless, and the rest.’

Because this real mark neither arises nor is made, it is said to be ‘inexhaustible’. When the noble ones obtain the real mark of all dharmas and enter nirvāṇa without remainder, they do not fall within the count of the six destinies; this dharma of the real mark too does not fall within the count of all kinds of dharmas, conditioned, unconditioned, and the rest; therefore it is said to be ‘countless’. What is called ‘measure’ is to weigh with wisdom beautiful and ugly, many and few, large and small, right and wrong, and the like; within the real mark of all dharmas, because all kinds of marks have been extinguished, it is said to be ‘immeasurable’. Because the real mark of all dharmas cannot be weighed, it is said to be ‘boundless’. Because this dharma of the real mark is quiescent, it is said to be ‘non-clinging’. Because in this dharma of the real mark the fixed mark of self and what belongs to self is unfindable, it is said to be ‘emptiness’. Because it is empty it is signless; because it is signless it is ‘non-action’ and ‘non-origination’. Because this dharma abides always and is indestructible, it is ‘non-arising’ and ‘non-ceasing’. Because this dharma can sever the staining attachment of the three realms, it is called ‘non-staining’. Because it no longer weaves afflictions and deeds, it is called ‘nirvāṇa’. In such ways there are immeasurable names, and by all kinds of causes and conditions this real mark of all dharmas is proclaimed.

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘Rare indeed! World-Honored One! Although the real mark of all dharmas cannot be spoken, yet the Buddha can speak it by the power of skilful means! As I understand the Buddha's meaning, it is not only the real mark that cannot be spoken; all dharmas too cannot be spoken.’

The Buddha approved his words, and set out the causes and conditions: ‘All dharmas in the end return to emptiness; because they return to emptiness they cannot be spoken, and the meaning that cannot be spoken has neither increase nor decrease.’

‘If all dharmas have neither increase nor decrease, then the six perfections and all the other wholesome dharmas too have neither increase nor decrease; if the six perfections and the other wholesome dharmas do not increase, how then can one obtain the unsurpassed path?’

The Buddha approved his words, and further set out the causes and conditions for him: ‘Although dharmas have neither increase nor decrease, yet one can obtain the unsurpassed path. That is, the bodhisattva cultivates prajñāpāramitā, and because of the power of skilful means, although he practises dānapāramitā and all the other dharmas that aid the path, because self, what belongs to self, and pride have all been severed, he does not have this thought—I have increased these six perfections and the other dharmas; he practises without grasping at the marks of inner and outer dharmas; this is called wholesome dharmas, dedicated in accordance with the mark of the unsurpassed path.’

Subhūti asked: ‘What is the unsurpassed path?’

The Buddha answered: ‘The suchness of all dharmas is the unsurpassed path.’

Subhūti asked: ‘What are all dharmas?’

The Buddha answered: ‘Form and the other dharmas, and so on up to nirvāṇa. The suchness of these dharmas is the mark of quiescence, is the mark of the unsurpassed path.’

What is called quiescence is neither increasing nor decreasing, neither high nor low, the extinguishing of all afflictions and idle discourse, unmoving and unbroken, without any obstruction. Because of the power of skilful means of prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva can also make giving and the rest all like the mark of quiescence. In such ways, by all kinds of causes and conditions, the mark of the unsurpassed path is proclaimed.

If the bodhisattva constantly recollects the mark of quiescence of the unsurpassed path, makes all dharmas the same as the mark of quiescence, and also contemplates the meaning that cannot be spoken, namely the mark of neither increase nor decrease, then in this way the bodhisattva quickly obtains the unsurpassed path, because it neither increases nor decreases and is unfindable.

The above is Fascicle Seventy-Four of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa.

This fascicle is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the remainder of the fifty-seventh chapter, "The Lamp Simile"—continuing from the previous fascicle—composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin.

Sūtra ③: The Question of the First Mind and the Last Mind—Mind and Mental-Factor Dharmas Are Not Together; How Are Roots of Goodness Increased?

Subhūti addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi by the very first thought of mind? Or does he obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi by the very last thought of mind? World-Honored One! That very first thought of mind does not reach the very last thought of mind, and the very last thought of mind is not in the very first thought of mind either. World-Honored One! In this way, mind and mental-factor dharmas, earlier and later, do not exist together at the same time; how are roots of goodness to increase? If roots of goodness do not increase, how again can one obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Sūtra ③ (continued): The Simile of the Lamp-wick—Neither the First Flame nor the Last Flame, and Yet the Wick Is Really Burned

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘I shall tell you a simile; when people who have wisdom obtain a simile, the meaning is easily understood. Subhūti! It is as when a lamp is lit: is it the first flame that burns the wick? Or is it the last flame that burns the wick?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! It is not the first flame that burns the wick, nor can it be apart from the first flame. World-Honored One! It is not the last flame that burns the wick, nor can it be apart from the last flame.’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Is the wick, in the end, burned or not?’

Subhūti answered: ‘World-Honored One! The wick is really and truly burned.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: it is not by the very first thought of mind that he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor is it apart from the very first thought of mind that he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; it is not by the very last thought of mind that he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor is it apart from the very last thought of mind that he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and yet anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is truly obtained. Subhūti! Herein, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, from the very first arousing of intent, practises prajñāpāramitā, fulfils the ten grounds, and thereby obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): What Are the Ten Grounds—from the Ground of Dry Wisdom up to the Buddha Ground

Subhūti addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What are the ten grounds, such that once the bodhisattva has fulfilled them, he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

The Buddha said: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva fulfils the ground of dry wisdom, the ground of the stage of nature, the ground of the person of the eight, the ground of seeing, the ground of thinning, the ground of freedom from desire, the ground of what has been done, the pratyekabuddha ground, the bodhisattva ground, the Buddha ground—having fulfilled these grounds, he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! After the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has trained in these ten grounds, it is not the very first thought of mind that obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor is it apart from the very first thought of mind that he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; it is not the very last thought of mind that obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor is it apart from the very last thought of mind that he obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and yet anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is truly obtained.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! This dharma of causes and conditions is truly very deep—namely, that it is not by the very first thought of mind, nor apart from the very first thought of mind, not by the very last thought of mind, nor apart from the very last thought of mind, that anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is obtained, and yet anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is truly obtained.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Does the Ceased Mind Arise Again?—Arising and Ceasing, Abiding as Suchness Abides, Can It Be Taken as the Limit of Reality, Is This Suchness Deep

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? If the mind has already ceased, will this mind arise again?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It will not! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? At the very time the mind is arising, is that itself the mark of ceasing?’

Subhūti answered: ‘World-Honored One! It is the mark of ceasing.’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Speaking of this very mark of ceasing of the mind, is it itself ceasing?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It is not! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Then does it abide like this?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! It abides just like this, abiding as 「如」 tr. "suchness" abides.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? If this mind abides as 「如」 tr. "suchness" abides, can it straightaway be taken as the limit of reality?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It cannot! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Is this 「如」 tr. "suchness" deep or not?’

Subhūti answered: ‘World-Honored One! Very deep!’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Is 「如」 tr. "suchness" just this mind?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It is not! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Apart from 「如」 tr. "suchness", is there this mind separately?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It is not! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Can 「如」 tr. "suchness" see 「如」 tr. "suchness"?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It cannot! World-Honored One!’

Sūtra ③ (continued): To Practise Thus Is to Practise Deep Prajñā—In What Place He Practises; He Practises within the Highest Meaning

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? If the bodhisattva can practise in this way, does it count as practising deep prajñāpāramitā?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva can practise in this way, that is practising deep prajñāpāramitā.’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises in this way, in what place does he practise?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises in this way, he practises for no place at all. Why? If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, abiding within the 「如」 tr. "suchness" of all dharmas, there is no such thought, no place where a thought arises, and no one who can give rise to a thought.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises in this way, in what place does he practise?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising in this way, practises within the highest meaning, because both of these two—the one who practises and what is practised—are unfindable.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): Does He Practise Marks? Does He Ruin Marks? What Is Called Not Ruining Marks

The Buddha asked further: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? If the bodhisattva practises within the highest meaning with nothing recollected, does this count as practising marks?’

Subhūti answered: ‘It does not! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Is this bodhisattva-mahāsattva ruining marks?’

Subhūti answered: ‘He is not! World-Honored One!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What is called not ruining marks?’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising prajñāpāramitā, does not give rise to such a thought: I should ruin the marks of dharmas. World-Honored One! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā, before he has fulfilled the Buddha's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four unobstructed knowledges, great kindness and great compassion, and eighteen unshared dharmas, does not obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. World-Honored One! Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has the power of skilful means, toward dharmas he neither grasps at marks nor ruins marks. Why? World-Honored One! Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva knows that all dharmas are at root empty of specific marks. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding within this emptiness of specific marks, for the sake of beings enters the three samādhi, and by these three samādhi brings beings to accomplishment.’

Sūtra ③ (continued): How He Enters the Three Samādhi and Brings Beings to Accomplishment

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! How does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva enter the three samādhi and bring beings to accomplishment?’

The Buddha said: ‘The bodhisattva abides within these three samādhi; seeing beings practising within dharmas of making, the bodhisattva, by the power of skilful means, teaches them to obtain non-action; seeing beings practising within the mark of self, by the power of skilful means he teaches them to practise emptiness; seeing beings practising within all marks, by the power of skilful means he teaches them to practise the signless. Just so, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, enters the three samādhi, and by the three samādhi brings beings to accomplishment.’

Treatise ③: For What Cause and Condition Subhūti Raises This Difficulty

The treatise explains:

Subhūti asks the Buddha: is the unsurpassed path obtained by the very first thought of mind, or is it obtained by the very last thought of mind?

Someone asks: for what cause and condition does Subhūti raise this difficulty?

The answer: above, Subhūti heard that dharmas neither increase nor decrease, and doubt arose of itself in his mind: ‘If dharmas neither increase nor decrease, how can one obtain the unsurpassed path? Further, if the unsurpassed path is obtained only by right practice as it really is, then only the Buddha can do it; the bodhisattva has not yet severed ignorance and the other afflictions—how can he practise rightly as it really is?’

Furthermore, Subhūti here himself states the cause and condition of his difficulty, that is: ‘The very first thought of mind does not reach the very last thought of mind, and the very last thought of mind is not in the very first thought of mind either; how can roots of goodness be increased and the unsurpassed path obtained?’

For causes and conditions of these various kinds, he raises this question: is it obtained by the very first thought of mind, or obtained by the very last thought of mind?

Treatise ③ (continued): The Buddha Answers with the Dharma of Deep Causes and Conditions—Not Only the First Mind, Yet Not Apart from the First Mind

The Buddha answers with the dharma of deep causes and conditions, that is: it is not obtained solely by the very first thought of mind, nor is it obtained apart from the very first thought of mind. Why is this said? If it were obtained only by the very first thought of mind and not by the last mind, then the bodhisattva, the moment he aroused the mind, ought already to be the Buddha; yet if there were no very first thought of mind, whence would the mind of the second thought and the third thought come? The mind of the second thought and the third thought takes the very first thought of mind as its root cause and condition.

As for saying that it is also not solely the last mind, nor apart from the last mind, this means: the last mind too is not apart from the first mind; if there is no first mind, there is no last mind. The first mind accumulates all kinds of immeasurable merit, and only at the last mind is it fulfilled; because it is fulfilled, he can sever the afflictions and their habitual residues and obtain the unsurpassed path.

Subhūti here himself states the cause and condition of his difficulty: the first mind and the last mind, mind and mental-factor dharmas, earlier and later, do not exist together; since they do not exist together, what is past has already ceased, and there is no way for them to come together; if there is no coming together, roots of goodness cannot be accumulated; if roots of goodness cannot be accumulated, how is the unsurpassed path accomplished?

Treatise ③ (continued): The Lamp-wick Simile Brought into Accord—the Lamp Stands for the Bodhisattva Path, the Wick for the Afflictions, the Flames Are Like Wisdom

The Buddha answers by making a simile of a matter before the eyes: as with a lamp-wick—it is not solely the first flame that burns it, nor is it apart from the first flame; it is not solely the last flame that burns it, nor is it apart from the last flame; and the wick is burned just so.

The Buddha says to Subhūti: you yourself see that the wick is burned—it is not the first flame, it is not the last flame, and yet the wick is truly burned; I too, in the same way, with the Buddha-eye see the bodhisattva obtain the unsurpassed path—it is not obtained by the first mind, nor apart from the first mind; it is not obtained by the last mind, nor apart from the last mind; and yet the unsurpassed path is truly obtained. The lamp stands for the bodhisattva's path; the wick stands for ignorance and the other afflictions; the flames are like the wisdom that accords with the first ground and so on up to the wisdom that accords with the vajra samādhi. What burns this wick of ignorance and the other afflictions is neither the wisdom-flame of the first mind nor the wisdom-flame of the last mind; and yet this wick of ignorance and the other afflictions is truly burned away, and thereby the unsurpassed path is accomplished.

Treatise ③ (continued): The Ten Grounds Assist in Accomplishing the Path—the Names Explained One by One from the Ground of Dry Wisdom to the Buddha Ground

Here the Buddha goes one step further in explaining the causes and conditions of obtaining the unsurpassed path, that is: the bodhisattva, from the very first arousing of the mind onward, practises prajñāpāramitā and fulfils the first ground and so on up to the tenth ground; these ten grounds all assist and help in accomplishing the unsurpassed path.

The so-called ten grounds are the ground of dry wisdom and the rest.

The ground of dry wisdom is of two kinds: first, the śrāvaka's ground of dry wisdom; second, the bodhisattva's ground of dry wisdom. The śrāvaka, solely for the sake of nirvāṇa, diligently practises with vigour, keeps the precepts with a pure mind, and is able to bear the noble path; either he cultivates the samādhi of contemplating the Buddha, or cultivates the contemplation of impurity, or practises the contemplation of kindness and compassion, the contemplation of impermanence, and the like, distinguishing and accumulating wholesome dharmas of all kinds and abandoning unwholesome dharmas. Though such a person has wisdom, he has not obtained the water of meditative concentration and so cannot attain the path; therefore it is called the ground of dry wisdom. On the bodhisattva's side, it is the stage from the first arousing of the mind up to the time when he has not yet obtained compliant acceptance.

The so-called ground of the stage of nature: for the śrāvaka, it is from the dharma of warmth up to the highest worldly dharma. For the bodhisattva, it is that he has already obtained compliant acceptance, loves, delights in, and holds to the real mark of all dharmas, does not give rise to wrong views either, and has obtained the water of meditative concentration.

The so-called ground of the person of the eight is from the acceptance of the dharma of suffering up to the acceptance of the subsequent knowledge of the path—fifteen minds in all. For the bodhisattva, it is the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, having entered the bodhisattva's position.

The so-called ground of seeing is the first attainment of a noble fruit, that is, the fruit of the srota-āpanna. For the bodhisattva, it is the avaivartika ground.

The so-called ground of thinning is either the srota-āpanna or the sakṛdāgāmin, because the nine kinds of afflictions of the desire realm have already been severed portion by portion. For the bodhisattva, it is from having passed beyond the avaivartika ground up to the time when he has not yet become a Buddha; the afflictions are severed, and even the lingering breath of their residual habits has grown thin.

The so-called ground of freedom from desire is having left greed and the other afflictions of the desire realm and so on; this is called the anāgāmin. For the bodhisattva, because of the cause and condition of freedom from desire, he obtains the five supernormal powers.

The so-called ground of what has been done: for the śrāvaka, it is obtaining the knowledge of exhaustion and the knowledge of non-arising and becoming an arhat. For the bodhisattva, it is accomplishing the Buddha ground.

The so-called pratyekabuddha ground: in a former life he planted the causes and conditions of the pratyekabuddha path; in this life, meeting some slight cause and condition, he goes forth, and he too contemplates the very deep dharma of causes and conditions and accomplishes the path; he is called a pratyekabuddha. The word pratyeka, in the language of Qin, means causes and conditions; it is also called awakening.

The so-called bodhisattva ground is from the ground of dry wisdom up to the ground of freedom from desire, as was said above. Furthermore, the bodhisattva ground is from the Ground of Joy up to the Ground of the Dharma Cloud—all of these are called the bodhisattva ground. Someone says: from the single arousing of the mind onward up to the vajra samādhi is called the bodhisattva ground.

The so-called Buddha ground is the omniscience of all kinds and the other dharmas of the buddhas. The bodhisattva fulfils the practice within the ground in which he himself stands, and fulfils the contemplation within the other grounds; both of these matters are complete, and therefore it is called fulfilling.

Treatise ③ (continued): Why It Is Not Said That the Bodhisattva Resembles the Pratyekabuddha Ground

Someone asks: why is it not said that the bodhisattva resembles the pratyekabuddha ground?

The answer: because none of the other grounds displays a name, and only the pratyekabuddha ground displays the name of the pratyekabuddha.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva can distinguish and know which beings can be ferried across by the causes and conditions of a pratyekabuddha, and so the bodhisattva, by wisdom, performs the deeds of a pratyekabuddha. As is said in the Śūraṃgama Sūtra, Mañjuśrī once returned seventy-two koṭi times and became a pratyekabuddha.

The bodhisattva is also like this: he fulfils nine grounds and cultivates and accumulates the dharmas of the Buddha; though the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the rest are not yet fulfilled, because his cultivation is already close to the Buddha path, it is also called fulfilling. For this reason it is said that because the ten grounds are fulfilled, he obtains the unsurpassed path.

Because all these dharmas are the coming together of causes and conditions, it is not the first mind, nor apart from the first mind, not the last mind, nor apart from the last mind, and yet the unsurpassed path is truly obtained.

Treatise ③ (continued): The Back-and-Forth Difficulties on the Arising and Ceasing of Mind—One Mind Does Not Fall into Two Times

Because Subhūti reveres this Dharma, he praises it, saying: World-Honored One! This dharma of causes and conditions is very deep—namely, that the past mind has neither ceased away nor abides permanently, and yet can increase and obtain the unsurpassed path. This matter is very deep and rare, hard to believe and understand! Does this mind, in the end, abide, or does it cease?

As for the Buddha asking Subhūti in return, what do you think, if the mind has ceased, will it arise again—the intent of this question is: though dharmas are ultimately empty, neither arising nor ceasing, yet because what beings see with the six faculties are dharmas of arising and ceasing, he therefore asks: when the mind has already ceased, will it arise again?

Subhūti says: It will not! World-Honored One! Why? The mind has already ceased; how could it arise again? If the mind, having ceased, arose again, one would fall into the view of permanence.

As for asking whether, if the mind arises, it is the mark of ceasing—this is: above he already asked about the past mind; now he turns to ask: will the present mark of mind cease in the future?

Therefore the answer is: it is the mark of ceasing. Why? Because arising and ceasing are dharmas established in dependence on each other; because where there is arising there must be ceasing; because what formerly was not now is, and what already is returns again to non-existence.

As for asking whether the mark of ceasing of the mind is itself ceasing—the meaning is: is the mark of ceasing of the mind itself ceasing, or is there separately a ceasing?

The answer: It is not! World-Honored One! Why? If the mark of ceasing were itself ceasing, then within one mind there would be two time-divisions: the time of arising and the time of ceasing. Wherever impermanence is spoken of, a mind does not exceed the time-division of a single thought. As is said in the Abhidharma Sūtra: there are dharmas of arising, and there are dharmas of not arising; there are dharmas about to arise, and there are dharmas not about to arise; there are dharmas of ceasing, and there are dharmas of not ceasing; there are dharmas about to cease, and there are dharmas not about to cease. An arising dharma, within the one present mind, is of two kinds: first, arising; second, about to cease. Arising is not the mark of being about to cease; the mark of being about to cease is not arising. This matter does not hold together, and therefore he says it is not.

As for asking whether it abides like this—the meaning is: if the mark of ceasing is not itself ceasing, then should it abide permanently? If it abides permanently, then it is a mark of not ceasing.

The Buddha presses him with difficulties back and forth like this; because Subhūti's reasoning is exhausted, he thinks thus: if I say the mark of ceasing is itself ceasing, then one mind falls into two time-divisions; if I say it does not cease, yet it really is the mark of ceasing—how can I say it does not cease? Because both of the above lines of reasoning have faults, Subhūti then answers with the wisdom he himself has realised: World-Honored One! It abides just like this, abiding as 「如」 tr. "suchness" abides.

Treatise ③ (continued): The Mind Cannot Straightaway Be Taken as the Limit of Reality—Suchness Is the Name of the Real Mark of All Dharmas

As for asking whether, if this mind abides as 「如」 tr. "suchness" abides, it can straightaway be taken as the limit of reality—the meaning is: if it is said that the mark of mind abides the same as 「如」 tr. "suchness", then 「如」 tr. "suchness" is the limit of reality; if so, can the mind straightaway be taken as the limit of reality?

Subhūti says: It cannot! World-Honored One! Why? For a long time Subhūti has revered this limit of reality; and the mind is a false and deceptive dharma; the power of the Small Vehicle's wisdom is slight and cannot contemplate the mind as straightaway being the limit of reality; therefore he says it cannot.

Someone asks: if Subhūti has already said that this mind is as 「如」 tr. "suchness", why can it not be taken as the limit of reality?

The answer: suchness is the name of the real mark of all dharmas; the real mark of the mind is also called suchness.

Subhūti thought in his mind: what ordinary people see with the six faculties is false and inverted, and therefore has faults; now that the mark of mind is said to be as it really is, there is no fault in this, and therefore he says it abides as 「如」 tr. "suchness" abides. But now the limit of reality is itself nirvāṇa; because Subhūti has long valued nirvāṇa, he cannot straightaway take the mind as nirvāṇa, and therefore he says it cannot. Furthermore, because the limit of reality is signless, one cannot say that the mind is itself the limit of reality.

As for asking whether this suchness is deep or not—this is because Subhūti said that the mind abides as 「如」 tr. "suchness" abides, and also said that it cannot be taken as the limit of reality, and so he asks: is this suchness very deep?

Because Subhūti cannot know it universally, he answers: Very deep!

As for asking whether suchness is just this mind—

Subhūti answers: It is not! World-Honored One! Why? Suchness is of one mark, a mark that is not two; whereas the mind, because it is born from the causes and conditions of recollection, imagining, and discrimination, is of two marks. Suchness has nothing that it knows; the mind has something that it knows. Again, because suchness is ultimately pure, it has nothing that it knows; whereas the mind has awareness and knowing.

As for there being a mind apart from suchness, the principle is also like this. Why? All dharmas have suchness; how could there be a mind separately, apart from suchness?

The Buddha asks Subhūti: can suchness see suchness?

The meaning of the answer is: within suchness there is no discrimination—no knower and nothing known; this bodhisattva does not abide in suchness, does not abide in the nature of dharmas, does not abide in the limit of reality, and only this is truly practising the deep bodhisattva path.

Treatise ③ (continued): Breaking the Haughty Mind—Practising for No Place at All, Practising within the Highest Meaning

The Buddha asks Subhūti: if one practises in this way, can it count as practising deep prajñāpāramitā?

Because Subhūti himself contemplates the Small Vehicle as shallow and contemplates the Dharma of the Great Vehicle as very deep, he answers: to practise in this way is practising deep prajñāpāramitā.

At that time there were bodhisattvas who had not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; hearing this Dharma, their minds gave rise to haughtiness, and they thought to themselves: I have already gone out of the Small Vehicle and entered deeply into the Great Vehicle. Because the Buddha wished to break their haughty minds, he asks Subhūti: when the bodhisattva practises in this way, in what place does he practise?

Subhūti says: to practise in this way is to practise for no place at all. Why? Because the bodhisattva abides within suchness and discriminates nothing.

On hearing of practising for no place at all, the bodhisattva might fall into annihilation, and so the Buddha asks Subhūti again: when the bodhisattva practises prajñā, in what place does he practise?

Subhūti says: he practises within the highest meaning. The mark of the highest meaning has no second mark.

The Buddha says to Subhūti: what do you think? If the bodhisattva practises the highest meaning with nothing recollected, is this practising the dharma of grasping at marks?

Subhūti says: It is not! World-Honored One! Why? All dharmas are ultimately empty and there is no recollecting; this is not practising marks.

Treatise ③ (continued): Neither Grasping at Marks nor Ruining Marks—Leaving the Two Extremes of Existence and Non-existence, Practising the Middle Way

The Buddha asks Subhūti: does this bodhisattva ruin marks and so obtain the signless?

Subhūti says: It is not so! Marks from the very beginning do not exist; it is only for the sake of removing inversion, and it is not a ruining of the marks of dharmas.

The Buddha says to Subhūti: if he does not ruin marks, how does he practise the practice of the signless?

Subhūti says: World-Honored One! The bodhisattva does not give rise to such a thought: I should break marks, and therefore practise prajñā. This bodhisattva has not yet fulfilled the Buddha's ten powers and the other dharmas of the buddhas; because he has the power of skilful means, he makes neither the existence of marks nor the absence of marks.

Why? If one grasps at marks, these marks are all false and deceptive and lying speech, and there are faults of every kind; if one breaks marks, one falls into annihilation, and there are also many faults. Therefore he grasps neither at the existence of marks nor at the absence of marks. To grasp at a mark is the dharma of existence; not to grasp at a mark is the dharma of non-existence; by the power of skilful means he leaves these two extremes of existence and non-existence and practises the middle way.

Here the Buddha himself states the cause and condition, that is: because he knows that all dharmas are empty of own-nature, he clings neither to existence nor to non-existence. The emptiness of specific marks breaks the marks of all dharmas, and breaks its own mark along with them.

Treatise ③ (continued): The Three Samādhi Sever Beings' Vow-Making, I and Mine, and All Marks

The bodhisattva abides within this emptiness of specific marks and gives rise to the three samādhi, benefiting beings. Beings within the six destinies make vows of all kinds and receive bodies. Some people do not gather in their minds, cannot cultivate merit, and indulge themselves, creating deeds at will. If they are to fall into hell, at the time of death a cold wind presses upon them, and they vow, wishing to obtain fire, and so they enter the three evil destinies, such as the hells; if they obtain birth as humans, they are also poor and lowly. Some people gather in their minds, can subdue stinginess and greed, and practise giving, keeping the precepts, and other wholesome practices; such people are born in places of wealth and pleasure among the humans and gods of the desire realm. Some people leave the desire realm, remove the five hindrances, and through the five faculties—faith and the rest—obtain the five-limbed and the other dhyānas, and are then born in the form realm. Some people let go of all marks of form, extinguish the marks of resistance, and because they do not recollect diverse marks, enter the formless absorptions such as the sphere of boundless space. All these doings are wrong vows. Why? Because in the long run they will all be ruined and fall; as when a bird is tied with a cord: when the cord runs out, it still comes flying back. By this non-action samādhi the bodhisattva severs beings' vow-making.

Again, this body is entirely empty: there are only sinews and bones and the five viscera, smeared with blood and fluids and wrapped in skin, filled with impurity, moved by the power of wind as the mind stirs it; this mind arises and ceases without abiding, like an illusion, like a transformation, with no fixed real mark. Because beings see these marks of coming and going, of speech, and the like, they say there is a person, there is a self, there is what belongs to self, and give rise to inverted minds; only because of recollection, imagining, and discrimination is there such error. By the emptiness samādhi the bodhisattva severs beings' minds of I and mine, and lets them abide in emptiness.

Again, beings grasp at and cling to the marks of male and female, of form, sound, smell, and taste, of beautiful and ugly, of long and short; because they grasp at marks, they give rise to afflictions of all kinds and undergo sorrows and sufferings of all kinds. By this signless samādhi the bodhisattva severs beings' marks and lets them abide in the signless.

Treatise ③ (continued): The Difference between Keen and Dull Faculties—Why the Signless and Non-action Are Used

Someone asks: if teaching and transforming beings so that they obtain emptiness is enough, why must the signless samādhi and the non-action samādhi still be used?

The answer: beings' faculties are keen or dull. People of keen faculties, the moment they hear of emptiness, obtain the signless and non-action. People of dull faculties, hearing that emptiness can break all dharmas, instead cling to the mark of emptiness, and so the signless must be taught. If someone, though he knows emptiness and the signless, because of this wisdom wishes further to make a body—and a body is a conditioned dharma with troubles of every kind, so one should not make a body; as is said in a sūtra: apart from the body of a bodhisattva, the other bodies are not worth delighting in even for as short a time as a snap of the fingers, how much less for abiding long!—therefore non-action must be taught. For such causes and conditions the three samādhi are fully taught, to be used to teach and transform beings.

This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the fifty-eighth chapter, "Entering Samādhi in a Dream", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-fifth fascicle.

Sūtra ①: Is Entering the Three Samādhi in a Dream of Benefit to Prajñā or Not?—Day and Night Are Equal and without Difference; Whether a Deed Performed in a Dream Gathers and Comes to Completion; the Distinction between Deeds and constructions with a Condition and without a Condition; Whether a Dedication in a Dream Is Real; Maitreya Does Not Answer and Does Not Realise; the Buddha Confirms It by Śāriputra's Not Seeing

At that time, Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva in a dream enters the three kinds of samādhi—the emptiness samādhi, the signless samādhi, and the non-action samādhi—is there any benefit from this to prajñāpāramitā or not?’

Subhūti answered Śāriputra: ‘If a bodhisattva's entering the three samādhi by day is of benefit to prajñāpāramitā, then in a dream at night it should also be of benefit. Why? Because day and a dream at night are equal and without difference. Śāriputra! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva's practising prajñāpāramitā by day is of benefit, this bodhisattva's practising prajñāpāramitā in a dream should also be of benefit.’

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva performs a deed in a dream, does that deed gather and come to completion? As the Buddha has said, all dharmas are like a dream; for this reason it should not gather and come to completion. Why? In a dream there is no dharma at all that can gather and come to completion. Only if, upon waking, one gives rise to recollection, imagining, and discrimination, should there then be gathering and completion!’

Subhūti told Śāriputra: ‘If a person in a dream kills a being and, upon waking, recalls it, grasps at the mark and discriminates, thinking to himself, was my killing a pleasure—Śāriputra! How is this matter to be spoken of?’

Śāriputra said: ‘Without a condition, a deed does not arise; without a condition, a construction does not arise. With a condition, only then does a deed arise; with a condition, only then does a construction arise.’

‘Śāriputra! Just so! Just so! Without a condition, a deed does not arise; without a condition, a construction does not arise; with a condition, a deed arises; with a condition, a construction arises. The mind arises within dharmas that are seen, heard, sensed, and known; it does not arise within dharmas that are not seen, not heard, not sensed, and not known; and within this, the mind is pure or stained. For this reason, Śāriputra! Because there is a condition a deed arises; it does not arise from no condition; because there is a condition a construction arises; it does not arise from no condition.’

Śāriputra told Subhūti: ‘As the Buddha has said, all deeds and all constructions are separated from their own marks. Why do you say that because there is a condition a deed arises and without a condition it does not arise, and because there is a condition a construction arises and without a condition it does not arise?’

Subhūti told Śāriputra: ‘Because of grasping at marks, when there is a condition a deed arises; it does not arise from no condition; because of grasping at marks, when there is a condition a construction arises; it does not arise from no condition.’

Śāriputra told Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva in a dream gives, keeps the precepts, is patient, is vigorous, practises meditative concentration, and cultivates wisdom, and dedicates these roots of goodness and this merit to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, is this a real dedication?’

Subhūti told Śāriputra: ‘The bodhisattva Maitreya is now present before us; the Buddha gave him the prediction of non-retrogression, that he will become a Buddha. We should ask Maitreya, and Maitreya will answer.’

Śāriputra addressed the bodhisattva Maitreya: ‘Subhūti says: the bodhisattva Maitreya is now present before us; the Buddha has given him the prediction of non-retrogression, that he will become a Buddha; Maitreya will answer!’

The bodhisattva Maitreya told Śāriputra: ‘Is it with this name, Maitreya, that I am to answer? Or is it with form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that I am to answer? Or is it with the emptiness of form that I am to answer? Or with the emptiness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness? This form cannot answer; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness cannot answer; the emptiness of form cannot answer; the emptiness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness cannot answer. I see no dharma that can answer, and I see no one who can answer; I do not see this person receiving the prediction, nor do I see a dharma that can receive the prediction, nor do I see a place where the prediction is given. All these dharmas are without duality and without difference.’

Śāriputra told the bodhisattva Maitreya: ‘As you, kind sir, have said—is this obtaining the dharma and realising it?’

Maitreya answered Śāriputra: ‘As is the Dharma I have spoken, just so I do not realise it.’

At that time, Śāriputra thought to himself: ‘The wisdom of the bodhisattva Maitreya is very deep; he has long practised dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā, and it is because he uses nothing to be attained that he can speak thus.’

At that time, the Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘What do you think? You obtained arhatship by this dharma—do you see this dharma?’

Śāriputra said: ‘I do not see it.’

‘Śāriputra! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā is also like this: he does not give rise to such a thought—this dharma shall receive the prediction, this dharma has received the prediction, this dharma shall obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Just so, Śāriputra! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā does not doubt whether I obtain it or do not obtain it; he knows of himself that he really obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Treatise ①: The Explanation of the Challenge from the Dream to the Three Samādhi—the Dream Is False and Deceptive while the Samādhi Are Real; Leaving the Two Extremes and Answering by the Real Mark of All Dharmas; the Gloss on Gathering and Completion; the Three Deeds Arise from Four Kinds of Dharma; Deeds Arise Because of Grasping at Marks; the Causes and Conditions of Maitreya's Not Answering; the Intent of the Buddha's Questioning Śāriputra in Return

The treatise-author asks:

Why does Śāriputra use the dream to challenge the bodhisattva's three samādhi?

The treatise-author answers:

Because a dream is false and deceptive, like madness, not a real seeing; and these three samādhi are real dharmas.

Furthermore, as is said elsewhere: in a dream too there are three kinds—wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate. If the bodhisattva practises the three samādhi with a wholesome mind, he should obtain merit; yet a dream is a dharma of madness and delusion, and one should not practise a real dharma within it and obtain a retribution! If there were a real dharma, it would not be called a dream. For this reason he asks: ‘If the bodhisattva practises the three samādhi in a dream, does it increase the merit of prajñāpāramitā, accumulate roots of goodness, and draw near to the Buddha path?’

Subhūti's meaning is: ‘If one says there is benefit—a dream is false and deceptive, and prajñā is a real dharma, so how could there be an increase? If one says there is no benefit—in a dream there is the wholesome, so how could it be without benefit?’ Neither benefit nor no benefit can serve as an answer, and so Subhūti leaves these two extremes of the challenge and answers with the real mark of all dharmas, which refutes even what is practised by day, how much more what is in a dream! And so he says: ‘Śāriputra! If the bodhisattva's practising prajñā by day were of benefit, then at night too it should be of benefit; but even by day there is no benefit, how much less in a dream!’ Why? Prajñāpāramitā does not discriminate between day and night.

Śāriputra, having heard what Subhūti said and already knowing that prajñā neither increases nor decreases, should not challenge him further.

Now he asks about the dream again on account of another matter: ‘Subhūti! If a deed is performed in a dream, does that deed gather and come to completion?’ What is called 「集成」 tr. "gathering and completion" means: does this deed really accumulate and gather, and so become able to bring a retribution to completion?

If this deed were real—yet the Buddha constantly says 「一切法空如夢」 tr. "all dharmas are empty, like a dream"—it should not gather and come to completion! Why? Because this dream-mind is feeble, it cannot gather and come to completion. Even the feeble mind of the daytime cannot gather and come to completion, how much less in a dream! Only if, after waking from the dream, one discriminates the wholesome and unwholesome minds that arose in the dream, should it then gather and come to completion.

Subhūti told Śāriputra: ‘Suppose a person in a dream kills a person and, after waking, discriminates: was my killing a pleasure? Śāriputra! How is this deed to be spoken of—does it count as gathering and coming to completion?’

Śāriputra told Subhūti: ‘All deeds, whether by day or in a dream, arise from causes and conditions; without causes and conditions they do not arise.’

Subhūti affirmed his words: ‘Just so! A deed arises when there are causes and conditions, and does not arise when there are no causes and conditions; a construction arises when there are causes and conditions, and does not arise when there are no causes and conditions.’

What is called a deed is the deed of body and the deed of speech; what is called construction is only the deed of the mind. construction is the true deed; the deeds of body and speech are called deeds only for the sake of construction. These three deeds arise from four kinds of dharma: seeing, hearing, sensing, or knowing; because of these four, the mind arises; this mind arises according to causes and conditions, and is pure or impure. The impure is sinful deeds; the pure is meritorious deeds. Therefore whatever is seen in a dream is all due to prior seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing. The wholesome and unwholesome done in a dream, because sleep covers the mind and it is not free, has no strength and cannot gather to complete a retribution; if this deed reaches the time of waking, then because the wholesome or unwholesome mind comes together with it, it can help to complete a retribution.

Subhūti's meaning is: ‘A deed in a dream really does gather and come to completion. Why? Because it arises from causes and conditions. The mind by day and the mind in a dream are without difference. Why is this said? Because both arise from these four kinds of dharma.’

Śāriputra challenged Subhūti from emptiness: ‘As the Buddha has said, all deeds are separated from their own marks. How can you say for certain that deeds arise when there are causes and conditions and do not arise when there are no causes and conditions?’

Subhūti answered: ‘Though dharmas are empty and separated from marks, ordinary people grasp at marks, and because there are causes and conditions, deeds arise; if they do not grasp at marks, there are no causes and conditions, and then deeds do not arise. Therefore all deeds exist because they arise from the causes and conditions of grasping at marks; day and dream are without difference.’

Śāriputra asked further: ‘If the bodhisattva practises the six perfections in a dream and dedicates it to the unsurpassed path, is this a real dedication?’

Śāriputra challenged: ‘If a dream is without difference from the day, then this dedication in a dream ought to be real! And again, if by day one grasps at marks with a clinging mind, it is not yet called dedication, how much less at the time when sleep covers the mind!’

Subhūti, because these two challenges were too deep and hard to answer, told Śāriputra: ‘You should ask Maitreya.’

The treatise-author asks:

Why does Maitreya only speak of emptiness and not give an answer?

The treatise-author answers:

These two great disciples, for the sake of benefiting bodhisattvas, were distinguishing whether waking and dreaming are the same or different. Because the Buddha constantly says 「一切法如夢」 tr. "all dharmas are like a dream", if one practises the path by day, one should also practise the path in a dream.

Maitreya knew and saw that the two each held to something and could not penetrate through it, and therefore Maitreya does not answer.

Again, someone says: Maitreya answers by means of this very emptiness.

Śāriputra asked Maitreya: ‘As for the emptiness you speak of—do you take this as realisation?’

Śāriputra's meaning is: ‘If you take this dharma as realisation, a challenge arises—what is it that is called realisation? If you do not realise it, you yourself do not obtain it and do not know it; how can you speak of it?’

Maitreya's meaning is: ‘You take nirvāṇa as realisation; I, because nirvāṇa too is empty and there is nothing to be attained, do not realise it.’

Someone says: because Maitreya has not yet fulfilled the dharmas of a Buddha, he says 「不證」 tr. "I do not realise it"; the dharma of the bodhisattva is that he should know the dharmas of emptiness, the signless, and non-action, and should not take realisation.

At that time, Śāriputra thought to himself: ‘The wisdom of the bodhisattva Maitreya is very deep; he can speak thus.’ To be able to know the mark of nirvāṇa and not take realisation is called very deep. Here Śāriputra himself states the cause and condition: ‘Because he has long practised the six perfections, his wisdom is very deep.’ Śāriputra's meaning is: ‘Maitreya is next to become a Buddha; he should be able to answer, and yet now he does not answer.’

Therefore the Buddha asks Śāriputra in return: ‘What do you think? Do you see the dharma by which you obtained arhatship?’

Śāriputra said: ‘I do not see it.’ Why? This dharma is emptiness, the signless, non-action; how could it be seen? If it were seen, it would have marks. The fleshly eye and the divine eye discriminate and grasp at marks, and therefore they should not see it; the wisdom-eye has no mark of discrimination, and therefore it too does not see it. For this reason he says he does not see it.

The Buddha said: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: when he obtains the acceptance of non-arising, he does not speak such words—seeing this dharma, obtaining the prediction, shall obtain the unsurpassed path. Though he does not hold such a view, neither does he give rise to the doubt that I do not obtain the unsurpassed path. Just as you, though you do not see the dharma, also do not doubt whether I have become an arhat or have not become an arhat.’

Sūtra ②: Practising the Six Perfections, He Sees the Various Marks of Suffering of Beings and Vows, One by One, to Purify His Land—Hunger and Cold, Breaking the Precepts, Hatred and Harm, Laziness, the Five Hindrances, Folly and Delusion, the Three Groups, the Three Evil Destinies, the Filth of the Ground, the Absence of Treasures, Longing Attachment, the Four Castes, Superior and Inferior, Differing Colours, Having Masters, the Six Destinies, the Four Kinds of Birth, the Absence of Supernormal Powers, Excretion, the Absence of Light, the Sun and Moon and the Years, Short Life, the Absence of the Marks and Minor Signs, Separation from Roots of Goodness, the Three Poisons and the Four Illnesses, the Three Vehicles, Overweening Pride, Light and Lifespan and the Number of the Saṅgha Limited, the Land Limited; Closing at the End with the Right Recollection that Birth and Death Are like Space

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘There is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who, when practising dānapāramitā, sees beings in hunger and cold and freezing and starvation, their clothing torn and worn; the bodhisattva should make this vow—for as long as I practise dānapāramitā, when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, may the beings in my land have no such thing. Their clothing, food and drink, and requisites of life shall be like what is had in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-three, the Yāma heaven, the Tuṣita heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformation, and the heaven of the gods Sovereign over Others' Transformations. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil dānapāramitā and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises śīlapāramitā, he sees beings killing and so on up to holding wrong view, short-lived, much ill, of poor complexion, without majestic virtue, poor in wealth, born in low and mean families, their bodies maimed and ugly; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise śīlapāramitā, when I obtain buddhahood, may the beings in my land have no such thing. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil śīlapāramitā and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises kṣāntipāramitā, he sees beings in hatred and abuse toward one another, harming one another and taking one another's lives with knives and staves, tiles and stones; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise kṣāntipāramitā, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no such thing. They shall look on one another as on a father, as on a mother, as on an elder brother, as on a younger brother, as on an elder sister, as on a younger sister, as on a good friend, all practising kindness and compassion. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil kṣāntipāramitā and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises vīryapāramitā, he sees beings in laziness, not diligent in vigour, abandoning the three vehicles—the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise vīryapāramitā, when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, may the beings in my land have no such thing. All beings shall diligently cultivate vigour, and within the paths of the three vehicles each obtain deliverance. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil vīryapāramitā and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises dhyānapāramitā, he sees beings covered by the five hindrances—lust, hatred, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt—losing the first dhyāna and so on up to the fourth dhyāna, losing kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, and the sphere of space, the sphere of consciousness, the sphere of nothing whatsoever, and the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise dhyānapāramitā, when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, may the beings in my land have no such thing. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil dhyānapāramitā and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he sees beings in folly and delusion, having lost worldly and world-transcending right view, some saying that there are no deeds and no causes and conditions of deeds, some saying that the soul-self is permanent, some saying annihilation, some saying that everything is nothing whatsoever; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise prajñāpāramitā, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, may the beings in my land have no such thing. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil prajñāpāramitā and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings dwelling within the three groups—first, the group assured of rightness; second, the group assured of wrongness; third, the unassured group; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I obtain buddhahood, may the beings in my land have no group assured of wrongness, not even its name. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees the beings in the hells, and the beings among the animals and the hungry ghosts; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I obtain buddhahood, may there be in my land not even the name of the three evil destinies! Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees this great earth with stumps and thorns, hills and mounds, ditches and pits, and filthy places; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may my land have no such evil places, and the ground be level as the palm of a hand. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees this great earth as pure soil, without gold, silver, or precious things; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may my land be spread with golden sand. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with things they long for and cling to; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have nothing they long for and cling to. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings of the four castes—the kṣatriya, the brahmin, the vaiśya, and the śūdra; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no names of the four castes. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections and draw near to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings distinguished as low, middle, and high, born into low, middle, and high families; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no such superior and inferior. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with all kinds of differing and unlike colours; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no such differing and unlike colours; all beings shall be upright and clean, accomplished in wondrous colour. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings having masters; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no name of a master, and not even its image, save only the Buddha, the Dharma King. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with the distinctions of the six destinies; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no names of the six destinies: this is a hell-being, this is an animal, this is a hungry ghost, this is a spirit, this is a god, this is a human; all beings shall be alike in one kind of deed, cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with four kinds of birth—birth from an egg, birth from a womb, birth from moisture, and birth by transformation; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have none of the three kinds of birth, all alike in the one kind, birth by transformation. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings without the five supernormal powers; he should make this vow—for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land all obtain the five supernormal powers. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with the trouble of excretion; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land all take Dharma-joy as food, without the trouble of excretion. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings without light; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land all have light. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees that there are the sun and moon, the seasons, and the years; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may there be in my land no names of the sun and moon, the seasons, and the years. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with short lives; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have lifespans of immeasurable kalpas. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings without the marks and minor signs; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land all be accomplished in the thirty-two marks. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings far separated from the roots of goodness; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land be accomplished in the roots of goodness, and with this merit make offerings to the buddhas. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with the three poisons and the four illnesses; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have none of the four kinds of illness: the illness of cold, the illness of heat, the illness of wind, and the illness of the three mixed, nor the illness of the three poisons. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees that beings have three vehicles; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have no name of the two vehicles, purely the one Great Vehicle. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he sees beings with overweening pride; he should make this vow—when I become a Buddha, may the beings in my land have not even the name of overweening pride. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he should make this vow—if my light and lifespan are limited in measure and the number of the Saṅgha is limited, then he should make this vow: I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment; when I become a Buddha, may my light and lifespan be immeasurable and the number of the Saṅgha without limit. And so on up to: draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he should make this vow—if my land is limited in measure, then he should make this vow: for as long as I practise the six perfections, purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment, when I become a Buddha, may my one land be as buddha-worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.

‘Again, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he should have this thought—though the road of birth and death is long and far and the nature of beings is many, at that time he should rightly recollect thus: the limit of birth and death is like space, and the limit of the nature of beings is also like space; within this there is really no going and coming in birth and death, and also no one who is liberated. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises thus can fulfil the six perfections, and draw near to the omniscience of all kinds.’

Treatise ②: The Explanation of the Sequence and the Causes and Conditions of Making the Vows—Purifying Buddha-worlds and Bringing Beings to Accomplishment, with No Other Matter Left; the Extended Explanation of the Vow of Giving; the Remaining Vows Discriminated according to Their Meaning; the Brief Explanation of the Last Vow; the Mind of Exhaustion and Weariness Is Wrong Recollection; Right Recollection Refutes It; Because the Buddha's Wisdom Is without Measure, Delivering Them Is Not Hard Either

The treatise-author asks:

For what reason of sequence does it say that the bodhisattva sees beings in hunger and cold, freezing and starvation, and such matters?

The treatise-author answers:

The bodhisattva has passed beyond the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha grounds, has obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and obtained the prediction, and has no other matter left; he practises only purifying buddha-worlds and bringing beings to accomplishment. Now the causes and conditions of purifying buddha-worlds are spoken of—seeing the marks of impure worlds, he then vows that his land shall have no such thing. For this reason this matter is spoken of in sequence.

When the bodhisattva practises dānapāramitā, if he sees beings hungry and thirsty, their clothing torn and worn, he has this thought: ‘My merit and wisdom are not yet accomplished now, and I cannot supply and satisfy what beings need; if I only practise the mind of kindness and compassion, it is of no benefit to beings. I shall, for as long as it takes, deeply practise three kinds of merit and abide within the three kinds of merit, and be able to let poor beings all be satisfied: either becoming a wheel-turning sage king, or becoming a heavenly king, or becoming a sage with supernormal powers, I can then guide beings in great numbers, break their firm greed, and settle them in giving.’ Because of the causes and conditions of these beings' giving and even of the bodhisattva's giving, later, when he becomes a Buddha, there are no poor people in his land; as soon as a thought arises, things are obtained at will, like all the things had in the sixth heaven of the desire realm. Because the bodhisattva thus, for as long as it takes, accumulates the meritorious virtue of dānapāramitā, it fills everything. Why? All conditioned dharmas belong to causes and conditions; because the causes and conditions of practising the wholesome are fulfilled, all can obtain their retribution as wished.

Again, because of the causes and conditions of breaking śīlapāramitā, beings are short-lived, much ill, without majestic virtue, and so on; the bodhisattva then makes this vow: ‘I myself shall be complete in keeping the precepts, and shall also teach beings and let them keep the precepts.’

The remaining vows are likewise; discriminate them according to their meaning.

The meaning of the last vow is not clear; now I shall explain it briefly. After the bodhisattva has made the vows above, a mind of exhaustion and weariness arises: ‘The Buddha path can be obtained only after practising all the meritorious virtues within immeasurable, countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas; the years of a single kalpa alone cannot be counted, which is why the Buddha shows it to people by similes—how much more immeasurable and limitless asaṃkhyeya kalpas spent passing through this birth and death and undergoing all sufferings and vexations! Beings too are without measure and without limit, beyond the reach of simile or calculation; beings merely as many as the atoms of the three-thousand great-thousand world are already hard to deliver, how much less can beings as many as the atoms of the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions be delivered!’ Because of this matter, the mind may give rise to retreat and sinking; this is called wrong recollection.

Therefore the Buddha teaches this bodhisattva to rightly recollect: though birth and death are long, all this is empty, like space, like what is seen in a dream; it is not really long and far, and one should not give rise to a mind of weariness. Moreover, the future age too is only the object of a single thought, and it is not long and far either.

Again, because of the power of immeasurable merit and wisdom, the bodhisattva can pass beyond immeasurable kalpas. Because of such various causes and conditions, one should not give rise to a mind of weariness.

Here the Buddha speaks of the great causes and conditions, namely: ‘Birth and death are like space, and beings are likewise; though beings are many, there are no fixed, real beings either. As beings are without measure and without limit, the Buddha's wisdom too is without measure and without limit; delivering them is not hard either, and therefore the bodhisattva should not give rise to a mind of exhaustion and weariness.’

This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the fifty-ninth chapter, "Gaṅgadevī", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-fifth fascicle.

Sūtra ①: The Woman Gaṅgadevī Makes Her Vow and Her Offering, and the Buddha Smiles and Gives the Prediction—the Kalpa Named Constellation and the Buddha Called Golden Flower, Ending Her Woman's Body and Receiving the Form of a Man and Being Born in the Land of Akṣobhya Buddha, from One Buddha-Land to Another without Leaving the Buddhas, the Assembly like the Buddha's Assembly, and the First Arousing of the Mind in the Presence of Dīpaṃkara Buddha

At that time there was a woman named Gaṅgadevī, seated in the assembly. This woman rose from her seat, bared her right shoulder, set her right knee on the ground, joined her palms, and said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! I shall practise the six perfections and take up a pure buddha-world; just as it is taught within prajñāpāramitā, I shall practise it all.’ Then the woman took flowers made of gold and silver, together with flowers born in water and flowers born on land, all kinds of adorned articles of offering, and two fine cloths woven of gold thread, and scattered them over the Buddha's body; when she had scattered them, in the space above the Buddha's head they turned into a jewelled terrace with four pillars, upright and finely adorned. This woman, holding this merit, shared it with all beings and dedicated it to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

At that time the World-Honored One, knowing the causes and conditions of this woman's deep mind, at once smiled. As is the constant way of the buddhas, light of various colours issued from his mouth—blue, yellow, red, white, crimson, and pale blue—illuminating everywhere the immeasurable and boundless buddha-lands of the ten directions, and then came back, circled the Buddha three times, and entered at the crown of the Buddha's head.

At that time Ānanda rose from his seat, set his right knee on the ground, joined his palms, and said to the Buddha: ‘For what cause and condition does the Buddha smile? It is the constant way of the buddhas not to smile without cause and condition.’

The Buddha told Ānanda: ‘This sister Gaṅgadevī will in a future age become a Buddha; the kalpa will be named Constellation, and the Buddha will be called Golden Flower. Ānanda! This woman will end her woman's body and receive the form of a man, and will be born in Abhirati, the land of Akṣobhya Buddha, and there purely cultivate pure conduct. Ānanda! This bodhisattva, in that land, will also be called Golden Flower. When this bodhisattva Golden Flower's life ends there, he will go on again to the buddha-lands of other directions; from one buddha-land to another buddha-land, he will not be apart from the buddhas. It is like a wheel-turning sage king, who goes from one tower to another tower, and from birth to the end of his life his feet do not tread the ground. Ānanda! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva Golden Flower is also like this: from one buddha-land to another buddha-land, all the way to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, there is never a time when he does not see a Buddha.’

At that time Ānanda had this thought in his mind: ‘When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva Golden Flower later becomes a Buddha, the assembly of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should be known to be just like the Buddha's assembly.’

The Buddha, knowing what Ānanda was thinking in his mind, told Ānanda: ‘Just so! Just so! The assembly of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas at the time of this Buddha Golden Flower should be known to be just like the Buddha's assembly. Ānanda! The bhikṣu Saṅgha of this Buddha Golden Flower will be immeasurable and boundless, uncountable, uncountable—so many hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭi of nayutas. Ānanda! When this bodhisattva Golden Flower becomes a Buddha, his land will be without these various evil things, as was said above.’

Ānanda said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Where did this woman plant roots of virtue and sow roots of goodness?’

The Buddha told Ānanda: ‘This woman sowed roots of goodness in the presence of Dīpaṃkara Buddha, first aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and with this merit dedicated it to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; she also scattered golden flowers over Dīpaṃkara Buddha's body, seeking anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Ānanda! It was just as I at that time scattered five flowers over Dīpaṃkara Buddha's body, seeking anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Dīpaṃkara Buddha, knowing that my roots of goodness were already accomplished, then gave me the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. This woman, hearing me receive the prediction, aroused her mind and said: “In an age to come I too, like this bodhisattva, shall receive the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.” Ānanda! Know that this woman first aroused her mind in the presence of Dīpaṃkara Buddha.’

Ānanda said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This woman has long trained in and practised anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! This woman has long trained in and practised anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Treatise ①: Three Rounds of Question and Answer—Why Only One Woman Took Up the Vow of a Pure Land, the Meaning of the Name 「恒伽提婆」 tr. "Gaṅgadevī", and Why She Turns Her Woman's Body Only in the Land of Akṣobhya Buddha; and Finally Ānanda's Exclamation That Such a Thing Had Never Been, and the Origin in Dīpaṃkara Buddha's Prediction

The treatise-author asks:

When so great an assembly all heard the practice of the pure land taught, why did only one woman make the vow to take up a pure land?

The treatise-author answers:

Those who made the vow of a pure land were in fact many; they simply did not speak it aloud. A woman's nature is light and impulsive and fond of winning; because of the habitual residues of life after life, she spoke it aloud.

Furthermore, someone says: great persons have a share in attaining the path, and the rest have none; the Buddha's Dharma, however, is not so—it follows the beings' causes and conditions of deeds. It is like good medicine curing the various illnesses without choosing between the noble and the base. Though a woman's wisdom is shallow, yet by the causes and conditions of deeds in former lives she should receive the prediction; a thought of wishing to speak arose in her mind, and so the Buddha allowed her to speak it herself.

Furthermore, if the Buddha were to give her the prediction in silence, people would give rise to doubt: ‘For what cause and condition does he give the prediction to this woman alone?’ Therefore the Buddha gave her the prediction because she herself had spoken.

The treatise-author asks:

Why is she called 「恒伽提婆」 tr. "Gaṅgadevī"?

The treatise-author answers:

Everything has a name, for the sake of recognition; why go looking for its meaning?

Someone says: this woman's father and mother made offerings to the spirit of the Gaṅgā and obtained this daughter; therefore she is called Gaṅgadevī. Gaṅgā is the name of a river; devī means a deity.

This woman, by the causes and conditions of her merit, was born into a wealthy family, and because she heard the Buddha-Dharma and believed and delighted in it, she was able to take jewelled flowers of gold and silver, upper and lower garments woven of gold thread, together with the necklaces that adorned her own body, and use them as an offering to the Buddha.

The Buddha repaid her with the prediction; contemplating this woman's conduct in former lives, he smiled. The meaning of the smile is as explained before. Here a small cause and condition gives rise to a great matter; therefore the Buddha smiled.

The treatise-author asks:

By her merit this woman should long ago have turned from her woman's body; why does she turn her woman's body only in the land of Akṣobhya Buddha?

The treatise-author answers:

The five desires of the world are hard to sever; because a woman's clinging to desire and passion is much, though life after life she practises the various merits, she cannot obtain a man's body. Now, having received the prediction, her afflictions are broken and thinned; therefore in the land of Akṣobhya Buddha she at last obtains a man's body.

Someone says: this woman in a former life, because people mostly despise women, vowed to receive the prediction in a woman's body.

By various causes and conditions such as these, she receives the prediction without turning her woman's body.

Furthermore, the sūtra says that women have five obstacles; it does not say that they cannot receive the prediction; therefore one should not raise the difficulty.

Ānanda heard that this woman, through immeasurable kalpas, goes from one buddha-land to another buddha-land widely gathering merit, and in the future will obtain a pure buddha-world, in which the bodhisattvas all have the thirty-two marks, the eighty kinds of minor marks, and immeasurable light; therefore Ānanda exclaimed that such a thing had never been: ‘To be able thus to purify a buddha-land is to become like the Buddha's assembly.’

After the Buddha had approved his words, Ānanda and the others doubted, finding this woman rare—that hearing very little of the Dharma she should obtain a great fruit—and so they raised the difficulty and asked: ‘Where did this woman plant the roots of virtue?’

The Buddha answered: ‘When Dīpaṃkara Buddha gave me the prediction, this woman, holding golden flowers, scattered them over the Buddha, and made this vow: “When this person later becomes a Buddha, may he also give the prediction to me.” From that she planted roots of goodness, and now obtains the fruit.’

This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the sixtieth chapter, "Training in Emptiness without Realising It", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-sixth fascicle.

Sūtra ①: The Question of Training in Emptiness and Entering Emptiness—Contemplating Emptiness without Letting the Mind Be Disordered, and so Not Realising It; the Time of Training Is Not the Time of Realising; the Simile of the Stalwart Man Crossing the Dangerous Road, the Simile of the Bird with Wings, and the Simile of the Strong Man Skilled in Archery

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā, how should he train in the emptiness samādhi? How should he enter the emptiness samādhi? How should he train in the signless samādhi and the non-action samādhi? How should he enter the signless samādhi and the non-action samādhi? How should he train in the four foundations of mindfulness? How should he cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness? And so on up to: how should he train in the eightfold noble path? How should he cultivate the eightfold noble path?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he should contemplate form as empty, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as empty, the twelve sense-fields and the eighteen elements as also empty, and so on up to: he should contemplate the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm as all empty. When he makes this contemplation, he does not let the mind be scattered and disordered. If this bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind is not scattered and disordered, then he does not see this dharma; if he does not see this dharma, then he does not realise it. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has trained well in the emptiness of specific marks, there is no remainder and no part; the dharma that is realised and the person who realises are both not to be seen.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! As the Buddha has said, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should not realise the dharma of emptiness. World-Honored One! How does the bodhisattva abide within the dharma of emptiness and yet not realise it?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva fully contemplates emptiness, he first makes this vow: ‘I should not now realise the dharma of emptiness; now is my time of training, not the time of realising.’ The bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not exclusively gather his mind and bind it to the object; for this reason the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not retrogress from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor does he take the realisation of the exhaustion of the outflows. Subhūti! In this way the bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes a great, good, and wondrous dharma. Why? Because, abiding within this emptiness, he has this thought: ‘Now is my time of training, not the time of realising.’ Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should have this thought: ‘It is my time of training in dānapāramitā, not the time of realising; the time of training in śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, and dhyānapāramitā, the time of cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to the time of cultivating the eightfold noble path—none of these is the time of realising; the time of cultivating the emptiness samādhi, the signless samādhi, and the non-action samādhi is not the time of realising; the time of cultivating the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, the eighteen unshared dharmas, and great kindness and great compassion is not the time of realising. Now is my time of training in the omniscience of all kinds, not the time of the realisation of obtaining the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to not the time of the realisation of obtaining arhatship or the realisation of the pratyekabuddha path.’ Thus, Subhūti, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā trains in the contemplation of emptiness and abides within emptiness; trains in the signless contemplation and the non-action contemplation and abides within the signless and non-action; cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness and does not realise the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to: cultivates the eightfold noble path and does not realise the eightfold noble path. Though this bodhisattva trains in the thirty-seven limbs of the path, and though he practises the thirty-seven limbs of the path, he does not make the realisation of the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to the realisation of the pratyekabuddha path.

‘Subhūti! It is like a stalwart man, strong, robust, brave, and fierce, skilled in the arts of war and in the sixty-four skills, firmly holding his weapons, standing steady and unmoved, adept in all kinds of crafts, upright and clean, loved and respected by people, who by a little practice at his undertakings obtains an abundant fruit. Because of this cause and condition he is respected, honoured, and praised by the multitude; seeing people respect and honour him, he rejoices all the more. Because of some small cause and condition he must go elsewhere, and, supporting the old and the weak, he passes through all kinds of dangerous, difficult, and fearful places; he comforts his father and mother and instructs his wife and children, saying: ‘Do not be afraid or alarmed! I can pass through here; there will surely be no suffering.’ On the dangerous and difficult road there are many enemies and thieves lying in ambush to rob and kill; because this man is fully endowed with wisdom and strength, he is able to cross the evil road and return to his own place, meeting no harm from the thieves, joyful and at ease. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: toward all beings, the mind of kindness, the mind of compassion, the mind of joy, and the mind of equanimity pervade everywhere and are complete. At that time the bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in the four immeasurable minds, fulfils the six perfections, and does not take the realisation of the exhaustion of the outflows; he trains in the omniscience of all kinds, and enters the emptiness gate of liberation, the signless gate of liberation, and the non-action gate of liberation. At this time the bodhisattva does not follow after any of the marks, nor does he realise the signless samādhi; because he does not realise the signless samādhi, he does not fall to the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground.

‘Subhūti! It is like a bird with wings, flying up into space and not falling; though its body is in space, it also does not abide in or cling to space. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: he trains in the emptiness gate of liberation, trains in the signless gate of liberation and the non-action gate of liberation, and also does not realise them; because he does not realise them, he does not fall to the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground; before he has fulfilled the Buddha's ten powers, great kindness and great compassion, the immeasurable dharmas of the buddhas, and the omniscience of all kinds, he also does not realise the emptiness gate of liberation, the signless gate of liberation, or the non-action gate of liberation.

‘Subhūti! It is like a strong man who trains in all the arts of archery and is skilled in the archer's craft; leaning back, he shoots upward into space, and then with a later arrow shoots the earlier arrow, arrow supporting arrow, not letting the arrows fall, at will and unhindered; if he wishes them to fall, he simply stops the later arrow, and only then do they fall to the ground. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: practising prajñāpāramitā, by the power of skilful means, for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, before his roots of goodness are fulfilled he does not realise the limit of reality; if his roots of goodness are accomplished, only then does he realise the limit of reality. For this reason, Subhūti, when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he should contemplate the mark of dharmas of all dharmas in this way!’

Sūtra ②: What He Does Is Very Hard—the Vow Not to Abandon Beings, Contemplating the Very Deep Dharmas and Giving Rise to the Mind of Delivering Beings, Breaking the Four Inversions, Breaking Clinging to Attaining a Dharma, Breaking Clinging to Marks, and the Method of Testing by Asking to Discern the Marks of the Avaivartika

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does is very hard! Why? Though he trains in these marks of dharmas, trains in the limit of reality, trains in suchness, trains in the nature of dharmas, trains in ultimate emptiness, and so on up to trains in the emptiness of specific marks and the three gates of liberation, in the end he does not fall midway. World-Honored One! This is very rare!’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘It is because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not abandon any being that he makes this vow. Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has this thought: ‘I should not abandon any being! Beings are sunk in the dharma of nothing whatsoever; I should deliver them!’—at that time he enters the emptiness gate of liberation, the signless gate of liberation, and the non-action gate of liberation. Subhūti! Know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has accomplished the power of skilful means: before he obtains the omniscience of all kinds, he practises these gates of liberation, and also does not take the realisation of the limit of reality midway.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to contemplate these very deep dharmas—namely 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 three gates of liberation—at that time the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should give rise to this mind: ‘These beings through the long night practise within the mark of self, and so on up to the mark of a knower and the mark of a seer, and cling to attaining a dharma; in order to sever these marks for beings, I shall obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and shall expound the Dharma for them.’ At that time the bodhisattva practises the emptiness gate of liberation, practises the signless gate of liberation and the non-action gate of liberation, and also does not take the realisation of the limit of reality; because he does not realise it, he does not fall into the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to does not fall into the pratyekabuddha path. Subhūti! Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with such a mind, wishes to accomplish roots of goodness, he does not realise the limit of reality midway, and also does not lose the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eightfold noble path, emptiness, the signless, non-action, the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great kindness and great compassion, and the eighteen unshared dharmas. At this time the bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes all the dharmas that aid the path, and all the way to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi they never wear away or diminish. Because this bodhisattva has the power of skilful means, he constantly increases wholesome dharmas, and his faculties are penetrating and keen, surpassing the faculties of the arhat and the pratyekabuddha.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has this thought: ‘Beings through the long night cling to the four kinds of inversion—the notion of permanence, the notion of happiness, the notion of self, the notion of purity; for the sake of these beings I seek sarvajñā. When I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, I shall proclaim for them the dharma of impermanence, suffering, impurity, and the dharma of non-self.’ This bodhisattva, having accomplished such a mind, practises prajñāpāramitā by the power of skilful means, and before he has obtained the Buddha's samādhi, and before he has fulfilled the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great kindness and great compassion, and the eighteen unshared dharmas, he also does not realise the limit of reality. At that time the bodhisattva cultivates the non-action gate of liberation; though he has not yet obtained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he also does not realise the limit of reality.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has this thought: ‘Beings through the long night cling to attaining dharmas—namely self, beings, and so on up to a knower and a seer; this is form, this is feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, this is a sense-field, this is an element; this is the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions; I practise thus, so that when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, I shall bring beings to be without these attained dharmas.’ When such a mind of the bodhisattva has been accomplished, he practises prajñāpāramitā by the power of skilful means, and before he has fulfilled the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great kindness and great compassion, and the eighteen unshared dharmas, he does not realise the limit of reality. At that time the bodhisattva fully cultivates the emptiness samādhi.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has this thought: ‘Beings through the long night practise within marks—namely the mark of male, the mark of female, the mark of form, the mark of the formless; I practise thus, so that when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, I shall bring beings to be free of the faults of these marks!’ Such a mind having been accomplished, he practises prajñāpāramitā by the power of skilful means, and before he has fulfilled the Buddha's ten powers and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, he does not realise the limit of reality. At that time the bodhisattva-mahāsattva fully cultivates the signless samādhi. Subhūti! Suppose the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in the six perfections, trains in inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, trains in the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the emptiness gate of liberation, the signless gate of liberation, and the non-action gate of liberation, trains in the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, and great kindness and great compassion, and trains in the eighteen unshared dharmas. When such wisdom has been accomplished, that he should still cling to made dharmas, or still abide within the three realms—there is no such principle! When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in the dharmas that aid the path and practises the dharmas that aid the path, one should test him by asking: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas wish to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, how do they train in this dharma, contemplating emptiness and not realising the limit of reality? Because they do not realise it, they do not fall into the fruit of the srota-āpanna and so on up to the pratyekabuddha path; they contemplate the signless, non-action, non-origination, non-arising, and nothing whatsoever, and also do not take realisation, and yet they cultivate prajñāpāramitā.’ One should ask him in this way.

‘Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas test him by asking in this way, if the bodhisattva who is asked answers thus: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should only contemplate emptiness, should only contemplate the signless, non-action, non-origination, non-arising, and nothing whatsoever; this bodhisattva-mahāsattva should not train in emptiness, the signless, non-action, non-origination, non-arising, and nothing whatsoever, and should not train in these dharmas that aid the path’—Subhūti! Know that the buddhas have never yet given this bodhisattva the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Why? Because this person cannot proclaim the marks of what the avaivartika bodhisattva trains in; he cannot reveal them and cannot answer. If this bodhisattva-mahāsattva can speak of, can show, and can answer the marks of what the avaivartika trains in, know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has already trained in the bodhisattva path and entered the ground of thinning, like the marks of the avaivartika of the other avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Is there a bodhisattva who has not yet obtained avaivartika who can answer like this?’

The Buddha said: ‘There is. Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, whether he has heard of the six perfections or has not heard of them, can answer like this, just as an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva does.’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Many bodhisattvas seek the Buddha path; few bodhisattvas can answer like this within the path of training and the path beyond training, as an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva does.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just so! Just so! Such bodhisattvas are very few! Why? Because few bodhisattva-mahāsattvas have thus received the prediction and practise in the avaivartika ground of wisdom; if there are those who have received the prediction, these people can then answer like this. This person's roots of goodness are clear and bright, and the gods and the people of the world cannot break them.’

Treatise: The Difference between Training in Emptiness and Entering Emptiness, Why, after Entering Deeply into Meditative Concentration, It Is Also Said ‘Not Exclusively Attentive’, What the Three Similes Stand For, Not Realising though Practising Emptiness because Held by the Original Vow and Great Compassion, How the Method of Testing by Asking Can Verify, and the Real Mark of Dharmas That Only the Buddha Can Know Completely

The treatise-author asks:

What difference is there between training in emptiness and entering emptiness?

The treatise-author answers:

At first it is called training in emptiness; afterwards it is entering emptiness. As cause it is training in emptiness, as fruit it is entering emptiness; skilful means is called training in emptiness, attainment is called entering emptiness. Such as these are the two kinds of path.

The signless, non-action, and the thirty-seven limbs of the path are also like this.

The three gates of liberation and the thirty-seven limbs of the path are the path of nirvāṇa of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, yet the Buddha commands the bodhisattva to practise this path.

Subhūti had this thought: ‘This is the path of nirvāṇa; how can the bodhisattva practise this path-dharma and not take the realisation of nirvāṇa?’

The Buddha answered: ‘The bodhisattva contemplates form and all other dharmas as empty. Because this bodhisattva enters deeply into meditative concentration, his mind cannot be disordered, and because he has obtained the power of keen wisdom, he does not see this dharma of emptiness; because he does not see it, there is nothing realised.’

The śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha sever I and mine, abandon love and clinging, and go straight toward nirvāṇa. This bodhisattva trains well in the emptiness of specific marks: within the dharmas of form, down even to an atom, he leaves behind not the least remaining subtle part; within the formless dharmas, he leaves behind not even a single thought; he enters straight into ultimate emptiness, and does not even see this dharma of emptiness as something that can be used for realising.

Though the Buddha had answered thus, Subhūti had not yet penetrated the Buddha's meaning, and so pressed further: ‘As the Buddha has said, the bodhisattva should not realise the dharma of emptiness; now that he has already entered emptiness, how can he not realise it?’

The Buddha answered: because he enters deeply, he is able not to realise it. What is called fully is precisely entering deeply. It is like grasping a blade of coarse grass in the hand: hold it loosely and it wounds the hand; grip it tightly and there is no wound. The bodhisattva is also like this: because he enters deeply into emptiness, he knows that emptiness too is empty and nirvāṇa too is empty; therefore there is nothing realised.

Furthermore, when the bodhisattva has not yet entered emptiness, he reflects thus: ‘I should contemplate all dharmas thoroughly as empty; I should not take realisation before I have fully known.’ For this reason he does not exclusively gather his mind and hold his thought so as to enter dhyāna and bind it to the object of emptiness. Why? If he exclusively binds his mind to the object of emptiness, then the mind becomes soft and cannot come out of emptiness by itself.

The treatise-author asks:

Above it was said 「深入禪定，不令心亂」 tr. "entering deeply into meditative concentration, he does not let the mind be disordered"; why is it now said 「不專心」 tr. "not exclusively attentive"?

The treatise-author answers:

The 「不專心」 tr. "not exclusively attentive" spoken of now refers to the time of first entering, lest he be unable to come out by himself; the 「深入」 tr. "entering deeply" spoken of above refers to having entered deeply, knowing that emptiness too is empty, and not letting the mind rest on any other matter; therefore it is said not to be disordered.

Furthermore, this bodhisattva should have this thought: ‘I have not yet fulfilled the thirty-two marks, the eighty minor marks, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the other dharmas of the buddhas; how could I take the realisation of nirvāṇa? Now is my time of training: I am to thin the afflictions, teach and transform beings, and bring them into the Buddha path; if the Buddha-work I obtain becomes complete, then I shall take realisation.’ For this reason, though the bodhisattva enters the three gates of liberation, he does not take realisation.

Here the earlier similes are explained: 「壯夫」 tr. "the stalwart man" is the bodhisattva; 「父母親族」 tr. "father, mother, and kin" are the beings who can be delivered; 「險道」 tr. "the dangerous road" is birth and death in the three realms; 「惡賊」 tr. "the evil thieves" are Māra's people and the afflictions; 「器仗」 tr. "the weapons" are the bodhisattva's five supernormal powers and all the other kinds of the power of skilful means; 「還歸本處」 tr. "returning to his own place" is the path the bodhisattva practises; 「安立不動」 tr. "standing steady and unmoved" is the bodhisattva abiding in ultimate emptiness, carrying with the four immeasurable minds the beings who can be delivered and setting them in the peace and happiness of nirvāṇa.

At that time those in the assembly doubted: ‘In space there is nothing whatsoever; how can one travel there?’ Therefore the Buddha spoke the simile of the bird: ‘As a bird flies in space with no support, and yet can go far and does not fall.’ Furthermore, this bodhisattva, before he has fulfilled the path-dharma and before he has reached the Buddha path, does not realise it in the interval; just as a bird that has not yet reached where it is going never stops midway. He trains in this dharma of emptiness in order to sever his own afflictions and for the sake of delivering beings.

Again, to make the meaning clear, the simile of skilled archery is explained: it is like a man skilled in the archer's craft. The 「弓」 tr. "bow" is the bodhisattva's meditative concentration; the 「箭」 tr. "arrow" is wisdom; 「虛空」 tr. "space" is the three gates of liberation; the 「地」 tr. "ground" is nirvāṇa. This bodhisattva, with the arrow of wisdom, shoots into the space of the three gates of liberation, and further, by the power of skilful means, shoots the earlier arrow with the later arrow, not letting it fall to the ground of nirvāṇa; because the ten powers and the other Buddha-works are not yet fulfilled, he never takes realisation.

Subhūti joyfully said to the Buddha: ‘What the bodhisattvas do is very hard, truly rare!—namely practising emptiness and not realising it.’

The Buddha answered: ‘This bodhisattva originally vowed to bring all beings to leave the multitude of sufferings; because he is held by this original vow and by the mind of great compassion, though he practises emptiness he does not realise it.’

Furthermore, if the bodhisattva has this thought: ‘All beings are in suffering, bound by inversions, sunk in nothing whatsoever’, at this time he practises the emptiness gate of liberation, the signless gate of liberation, and the non-action gate of liberation. Know that this bodhisattva has the power of skilful means: he practises the three gates of liberation and does not abandon beings.

Furthermore, when the bodhisattva wishes to contemplate very deep dharmas—namely the eighteen emptinesses, the thirty-seven limbs of the path, the three gates of liberation—he should first have this thought: beings through the long night cling to the mark of self and the rest. If a practitioner contemplates very deep dharmas directly, he either attains the śrāvaka path or falls into wrong views, because he has no mind of pity and cannot enter deeply into the emptiness of specific marks. Therefore, when the bodhisattva wishes to contemplate this dharma, he first gives rise to the mind of compassion—namely he thinks of the afflictions of beings who through the long night have clung to the mind of I and mine. The long night is called far and distant: from immeasurable kalpas onward this self has certainly been unfindable; only because of emptiness, falseness, deception, and inversion do they undergo all kinds of sorrow and vexation. Having seen this, the bodhisattva makes a vow, saying: ‘I shall accomplish the Buddha path for beings, and sever these beings' inversion of clinging to self.’ At this time he practises the three gates of liberation, emptiness and the rest, and does not realise the limit of reality. Roots of goodness being accomplished in this way, the bodhisattva does not take the realisation of the limit of reality, and also does not lose the four dhyānas and the other merits. Because the bodhisattva enters deeply into emptiness, his faculties are fierce and keen, surpassing the two vehicles.

The meaning of breaking the four inversions is also as said above.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva has this thought: ‘Beings through the long night cling to attaining dharmas—namely self, beings, and so on up to: that one should cling to made dharmas or abide in the three realms—there is no such principle.’ Its meaning is in every case the same as contemplating emptiness and not taking realisation.

The treatise-author asks:

How is it known that this bodhisattva, not yet having attained the path, can practise this deep emptiness?

The treatise-author answers:

The sūtra itself states the causes and conditions: this bodhisattva should be tested by asking: ‘How should the bodhisattva train in emptiness and not take realisation?’

If the bodhisattva answers thus: ‘One should only be mindful of emptiness and practise it single-mindedly; as in the dharma of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, it is not merely a matter of training and knowing’—and so on up to non-arising and nothing whatsoever, likewise—know that this bodhisattva has not yet received the prediction from the buddhas. Why? Because he does not speak of contemplating emptiness by way of training and knowing skilful means.

If this bodhisattva's answer differs from the above, know that he is avaivartika, having already trained and entered the ground of thinning. Training means first training and knowing emptiness. The ground of thinning means that within the ground of the avaivartika the afflictions are thinned.

Subhūti, having heard the marks of the avaivartika and the marks of the non-avaivartika, said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Is there a bodhisattva who has not obtained avaivartika who can answer like this?’

The Buddha said: ‘There is. Whether the bodhisattva has heard the six perfections or has not heard them, he can answer as the avaivartika does.’ If he has heard them, he has only heard them from a teacher, and has not yet himself fulfilled the bodhisattva ground; if he has not heard them, he thinks it over by himself and rightly recollects, and though he has not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising, he can seek the marks of dharmas and answer as the avaivartika bodhisattva does.

Subhūti said: ‘Many people seek the Buddha path; few can answer like this within the ground of training and the ground beyond training, as the avaivartika bodhisattva does.’ Not yet having obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas is called the ground of training; having obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas is called the ground beyond training.

The Buddha said: ‘Few. Why? Because few bodhisattvas receive the prediction from the buddhas. Only those who have already received the prediction from the buddhas can answer like this.’ Why? The real mark of dharmas only the Buddha can know completely; the Buddha, knowing that this person can answer according to the Dharma, gives him the prediction in advance. Though such a bodhisattva is rare, his roots of goodness are clear and bright, he can greatly and widely benefit beings, and no one can break him.