妙法蓮華經玄義 白話全本 · 冊2

Entering the Separate Explanation of the Five Chapters

We now enter the second major section, which explains the Five Chapters separately. The first chapter, explaining the name, is itself divided into four topics. The first distinguishes the shared name from the specific name. The second determines the order in which “wondrous” and “Dharma” are explained. The third presents explanations by earlier masters. The fourth directly explains the meaning of the present tradition.

First Topic: Distinguishing Shared and Specific through Teaching, Practice, and Principle

The title “Wondrous Dharma Lotus Blossom” differs from other scriptures and is therefore a specific name. All such works are called “sutras,” which is their shared name. To explain these two kinds of name fully, they must also be understood through teaching, practice, and principle.

Viewed from the conditions to which the teaching responds, the Buddha teaches different Dharmas because sentient beings have different capacities, and so teachings are specific. Viewed from the one who teaches, all are spoken by the Buddha with his golden mouth and brahmā-sound, and so teaching is shared. Viewed from the approaches practitioners adopt and through which they can enter into accord, gates of practice are specific. Viewed from the truth with which all gates of practice accord, the principle accorded with is shared. Viewed from names, truth has many different names and principle may therefore be called specific. Viewed from the single truth indicated by those names, the names are many but principle remains shared. This is a brief explanation of the three meanings.

Teaching is originally given in response to capacities. What capacities need differs, and therefore each scripture has its particular distinctions. Yet all are taught by the Buddha, and teaching may therefore also be called shared.

Next, consider practice. The true Dharma-treasure of nirvāṇa has more than one entrance, and sentient beings may enter through many gates. Five hundred monks each explained the cause of the body. Their accounts differed, yet the Buddha judged that not one spoke incorrectly. Thirty-two bodhisattvas each described how they entered the gate of nonduality, and Mañjuśrī praised them. Practices such as mindfulness of inhalation and exhalation, discussed in the Da zhidu lun, are all Mahāyāna when embraced by the wisdom of unobtainability. Thus, the approaches that can be practiced are specific, while the principle with which they accord is the same. Guṇavarman’s verse likewise means that although the treatises establish different points of entry, the principle accorded with in practice is not two.

Next, consider principle. Principle is not two, but it has more than one name. The meaning of the Da zhidu lun is that prajñā is one Dharma, though the Buddha teaches it under many names. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that liberation also has many names, just as Śakra, lord of the gods, has many titles. Because names differ, principle may be called specific. Because what they indicate is one, it may be called shared.

The present title, “the sutra of the Wondrous Dharma,” thus shows the shared and specific aspects of teaching. In the sutra, the elder gives each of his children equally a great cart, and the children ride the precious vehicle directly to the place of awakening. This shows that the gates entering into accord differ, while their destination is the same. The sutra also uses different names—the true mark, the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, the Mahāyāna family estate, the real matter of the one ground, the place of treasure, the jewel sewn into the robe, and impartial great wisdom—to indicate one reality, showing the shared and specific aspects of principle. Because teaching, practice, and principle each have both sides, shared and specific names are established.

Someone asks: the teachers are not the same, and the teachings they establish also differ. How can all of them be called teaching shared through the golden-mouth brahmā-sound?

The answer is that this must be distinguished through two meanings: treatment within each division and treatment across divisions.

First, treatment within each division. The buddha of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, for example, teaches various Dharmas in response to various conditions. Because the conditions differ, teaching is specific; because the teacher is one, teaching is shared. Practice based on this teaching has differences in what enters into accord and sameness in that with which it accords. What enters and that with which it accords also have many names, but principle itself is not many.

In the sutra’s simile of the poor son, the elder removes his necklaces, puts on coarse and filthy clothing, tells the poor son to work diligently and not to go elsewhere, increases his wages, and gives him oil for his feet. This speaks within the identity presently seen and within the bounds of the body, speech, practice, and principle expressed there. One cannot leave those bounds and impose some other explanation at will. The teaching, practice, and principle of the Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct, and Perfect teachings are each likewise understood within their own bounds. This level is easy to understand, but integrating the principles accorded with at different divisions is difficult.

Next, treatment across divisions. Are there truly four teachers completely separate from one another, each with an independent body, speech, and teaching? The Buddha merely conceals the body adorned with immeasurable virtues and manifests a sixteen-foot body shining purple-gold. Instead of teaching the sweet taste of permanence and joy, the Buddha temporarily teaches salty and sour tastes, impermanence, and pungency. The Buddha removes royal clothing and takes up implements for clearing excrement. All of these are called skillful means.

Once the gate of skillful means is opened and the mark of reality revealed, the body that was originally manifested is itself the perfectly permanent body. The Dharma originally taught is the perfect Dharma, and the practice and principle originally entered are also revealed as real. Seen from this side, teaching is originally a single sound that displays distinctions of great and small to sentient beings. Practices that enter into accord may be long or short, while the principle accorded with is one. Immeasurable names finally return to one ultimate meaning, and the one ultimate meaning can in turn respond through many names.

When shared and specific in teaching, practice, and principle are explained within each division, phenomena are easy to distinguish and principle is harder to integrate. When they are explained across divisions, phenomena are harder to understand but principle is easier to make clear. The two accounts do not exclude one another. They answer the same question from the two sides of preserving each division and opening it to reveal reality.

Second Topic: Why the Title Puts Wondrous First, While Explanation Begins with Dharma

If the discussion unfolds according to meaning, it should first explain what Dharma is and then explain why this Dharma is called wondrous. A later passage likewise says that the dharmas of buddhas are wondrous and difficult to conceive: Dharma must first be present before it can be called wondrous.

If one follows the convenience of naming, however, wondrous should be stated before Dharma. Suppose one wishes to praise someone and calls him a “good person.” On close examination, there can be no goodness if no person exists; according to meaning, the person must come first and goodness afterward. In naming, one nevertheless says “good person,” not “person good.”

The present sutra title follows the convenience of naming and therefore places wondrous before Dharma. Its explanation follows the convenience of meaning and therefore places Dharma before wondrous. Although the sequence differs, the meanings do not conflict.

Third Topic: Four Earlier Explanations

Earlier masters offered many explanations. Four are briefly presented here.

First, Daochang Guan held that the Buddha initially taught the Three Vehicles according to what sentient beings required. The Three Vehicles are not ultimately real and finally all return to the One Vehicle. Since nothing is higher than the One Vehicle, it is called wondrous. He supported this with the sutra’s statements that the great cart is wondrous, pure, foremost, and unsurpassed in the world. He further said that words are merely supports, while what they truly indicate transcends phenomena; the substance and nature themselves are severed from fine and coarse and are therefore called wondrous. He supported this with the statements that dharmas cannot be displayed and that the marks of words are quiescent and extinct.

Second, Kuaiji Ji held that “wondrous” is a name expressing shared unity. Formerly, the three causes proceeded in different directions and the three fruits also differed from one another, and so they could not be called wondrous. Only when they are now unified may they be called wondrous.

Third, a master from the North held that the real principle is not three. The three teachings are coarse, while the purport that transcends the three teachings is wondrous. This meaning is the same as the preceding account, though its wording is weaker.

Fourth, Guangzhai held that the wondrous is the Dharma of the cause and fruit of the One Vehicle. In relation to the past, cause and fruit each had three kinds of coarseness; the present cause and fruit of the One Vehicle each have three kinds of wondrousness.

First are Guangzhai’s three coarse aspects of the past cause. The first is narrowness of the cause’s substance: śrāvakas cultivate the Four Truths, pratyekabuddhas cultivate the twelve links of dependent arising, and bodhisattvas cultivate the six perfections. The three causes are separate and cannot include one another. The second is lowness of the cause’s stage: only the practitioner at the ninth uninterrupted path is called a bodhisattva, and this practitioner has merely subdued delusion without cutting it off and has not yet passed beyond the three realms. The third is shortness of the cause’s function: the ninth uninterrupted path subdues only the four abiding delusions and does not subdue ignorance.

Next are the three coarse aspects of the past fruit. The first is narrowness of the fruit’s substance: nirvāṇa with remainder and nirvāṇa without remainder do not possess all virtues completely. The second is lowness of the fruit’s stage: it reaches only the conjured city and has not passed beyond transformational birth-and-death. The third is shortness of the fruit’s function: the ninth path of liberation removes only the four abiding delusions and does not break ignorance. The Buddha’s lifespan is only eighty years; even if it is said to be extended before and after, it remains limited.

Next are Guangzhai’s three wondrous aspects of the present cause. The first is breadth of the cause’s substance: gathering the three into the one includes all wholesome practices. The second is height of the cause’s stage: practice does not remain only at the uninterrupted path within the three realms but continues on the bodhisattva path beyond them. The third is length of the cause’s function: the delusions subdued are not only the four abiding delusions but extend to ignorance.

Finally are the three wondrous aspects of the present fruit. The first is breadth of the fruit’s substance: it possesses all virtues, and all wholesome qualities universally converge in it. The second is height of the fruit’s stage: it reaches the place of treasure. The third is length of the fruit’s function: it cuts off the five abiding delusions and extends the lifespan through supernormal power to benefit sentient beings. Guangzhai therefore called the Dharma of the One Vehicle’s cause and fruit wondrous.

At the time, Guangzhai’s explanation was widely considered the strongest. Zhiyi observed that Mahāyāna interpreters in the South largely followed Sengzhao and Kumārajīva, whose explanations often proceeded through meanings of penetration and integration. He therefore concentrated his objections on Guangzhai; what followed for the other explanations could then be understood as well.

Challenging Guangzhai through the Four Unities: Breadth or Narrowness of the Cause’s Substance

If the past cause is said to be coarse because its substance was narrow, one must first ask what “past” means. If it refers only to limited gates such as the Tripiṭaka Teaching, the statement may stand. If every scripture and teaching before the Lotus Sutra is called past, it cannot.

The Prajñā scriptures explain extensively that all dharmas enter the Mahāyāna and can carry. The Sutra of Questions Asked by Brahmā Siye says that understanding the characteristics of dharmas is the bodhisattva’s universal practice. The Avataṃsaka reveals entry into the Dharma realm without leaving Jetavana. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa says that knowing all dharmas in one thought is the place of awakening. These earlier causal practices leave no Dharma outside their scope; how can they be called narrow?

Conversely, if the present cause is said to have broad substance, why does Guangzhai also say that the Lotus teaches only the One Vehicle as ultimate but does not teach buddha-nature and is therefore still incomplete in meaning? Why does he say that it explains only the fulfillment of the condition-cause and not the understanding-cause and is therefore still not full? Why does he further say that the Buddha’s lifespan extends backward beyond Ganges sands and forward twice that number and yet remains an impermanent cause? How can an impermanent cause produce a permanent fruit?

If cause and fruit are both impermanent, this impermanent person cannot see buddha-nature. Because the teaching is incomplete in meaning, it cannot include all teachings. Because its wording is not full, it cannot include all practices. Because the person is not permanent, it cannot include all persons. Because buddha-nature is not seen, it cannot include all principle. According to Guangzhai’s own account, the present cause is narrower than narrow, and what is narrow is coarse; the earlier cause is broad and is therefore wondrous. This one objection is already enough to reveal the problem, but the remaining objections are still made in full by the same method.

Height or Lowness of the Cause’s Stage

Prajñā is the unsurpassed luminous spell and the unequaled luminous spell; superior persons should seek superior Dharma. The earlier causal teaching is therefore not low. The Da zhidu lun says that bodhisattvas go beyond the three realms, receive a Dharma-nature body, and practice bodhisattva practices; causal practice is therefore not low. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa praises the bodhisattva’s virtue as near the unequaled, sovereign wisdom of a buddha and says that those who act as Māra kings throughout the ten directions are bodhisattvas abiding in inconceivable liberation; the persons of the cause are therefore not low. It further says that although they accomplish buddhahood and turn the Dharma wheel, they practice the bodhisattva path, and that there is no secret treasury of the buddhas they do not enter; the principle they see is therefore not low. Earlier teaching, practice, person, and principle are all high. How can they be judged coarse?

If the present cause’s stage is said to be high, yet this sutra is placed below a fifth teaching, its practice placed at the uninterrupted path that merely subdues ignorance, its practitioner still described as possessing a body of birth-and-death rather than a Dharma-nature body, and it is said of the principle seen that it is impermanent and that buddha-nature is not seen, then the present cause instead lacks all four unities of teaching, practice, person, and principle. Its stage is low and coarse; the earlier cause possesses the four unities and is high and wondrous.

Length or Shortness of the Cause’s Function

The Da zhidu lun speaks in many places of a samādhi that breaks ignorance, showing that the earlier teaching’s function is long. Not knowing phenomena and principle is called ignorance. If the Buddha knows all dharmas through the knowledge of all modes, illumination and ignorance have no two fixed self-natures; knowing ignorance to be unobtainable, even ignorance itself is unobtainable. This is length of function in practice.

It further says that practicing prajñā for one day is like the sun illuminating the world and surpasses the faint light of a glowworm. If someone enters a champak grove, he does not smell other fragrances; who would still delight in the virtues of the Two Vehicles? They need not yield their seats in reverence, and flowers do not adhere to their bodies; these people are among the non-retrogressing. The persons’ function is therefore long. Because form is boundless, prajñā is boundless; because feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are boundless, prajñā is likewise boundless. The function of principle is therefore long. Earlier teaching, practice, person, and principle are all long, and what is long is wondrous.

If the present cause’s function is said to be long, yet the Lotus is also called a teaching that conceals characteristics, its teaching is short. If its practice also conceals characteristics, practice is short. If it conceals characteristics and does not reveal buddha-nature, principle is short. Lacking all four unities, the present is instead short and coarse; because the earlier is long, it is wondrous.

Breadth or Narrowness of the Fruit’s Substance

Nor can one maintain that because the earlier fruits are nirvāṇa with remainder and without remainder and lack complete virtues, their substance is narrow and coarse. Prajñā is the mother of the buddhas, protected by buddhas throughout the ten directions. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa further speaks of never having heard this profound scripture of the true mark. These show that the earlier fruit’s substance possesses the many virtues.

If the present fruit’s substance is said to be broad, it should be both full and complete in meaning. Why, then, is it also said to be both full and not full, both complete and incomplete in meaning, and even to yield an impermanent buddha-fruit lacking the virtues of self, joy, purity, and the like? If the many virtues are absent, where is breadth? If the Dharma body pervades all places, why is the lifespan said to be only eighty years, or why does one, after seven hundred asaṃkhyeyas, become ashes and enter extinction, unable to reach another place after leaving this one? If the fruit’s substance were truly broad, it should possess the five eyes and see buddha-nature. According to these earlier accounts, the present fruit instead lacks all four unities and is narrow and coarse. Compared with the present, the earlier fruit is wondrous.

Height or Lowness of the Fruit’s Stage and Length or Shortness of the Fruit’s Function

If the present fruit’s stage is high, why is its teaching still placed below a fifth teaching? Why does its practice not pass beyond impermanence? Why does its person not pass beyond transformational birth-and-death? Why does its principle not exhaust the secret treasury? If teaching, practice, person, and principle are all absent, the fruit’s stage is entirely low and coarse. If the earlier fruit’s stage possesses the four unities, it is entirely high and wondrous.

If the present fruit’s function is long, why does its teaching not reveal permanence? Why can its practice not break ignorance suddenly? Why is its person not precisely Vairocana? Why is its principle not precisely the secret treasury? On Guangzhai’s own premises, the present fruit lacks these wondrous Dharmas; how could it not be coarse?

Guangzhai further uses supernormal power that extends the lifespan to show that the fruit’s function is long. The author of the treatise therefore asks: what kind of supernormal power is this? If it is supernormal power requiring deliberate exertion, it is the same as that of non-Buddhists. If it is uncontaminated supernormal power, it is the same as that of the Two Vehicles. If it is the supernormal power of the true mark, it is not fixed as extending or not extending but can extend and not extend. If it can extend, why extend only the lifespan? Why not extend the eye faculty so that it can see buddha-nature? Why not extend the tongue faculty so that it can speak of permanence? If the eye cannot see buddha-nature, this is not the supernormal power of the true mark. If it is not of the true mark, how could it not be coarse? The first objection already establishes its coarseness; the remainder merely clarifies the same problem fully.

Guangzhai used six aspects of cause and fruit to judge coarse and wondrous and used the four unities specifically to judge wondrousness. The present objections show that what he judged coarse actually possesses the four unities, and thus the past coarse is not coarse; what he judged wondrous instead lacks all four, and thus the present wondrous is not wondrous. Each of the six aspects receives four objections based on the four unities, producing twenty-four difficulties. This takes the opponent’s own criteria and uses them against his conclusion. The number is neither more nor less: it is exactly twenty-four.

Fourth Topic: Directly Explaining the Present Meaning

The present explanation first borrows Guangzhai’s terms “broad substance,” “high stage,” and “long function” to reveal the true meaning of the wondrous.

From the perspective of cause, one Dharma realm possesses the other nine Dharma realms: this is broad substance. The nine Dharma realms do not depart from the Buddha Dharma realm: this is high stage. The ten Dharma realms are immediately empty, provisionally established, and the middle: this is long function. The three meanings are expressed within one, and the one is revealed within three. They are not three things separate from one another, are not arranged horizontally side by side, and are not blended into one. Therefore they are called wondrous.

From the perspective of fruit, the fruit’s substance pervades all places: this is broad substance. Buddhahood was accomplished long ago, remotely and still more remotely: this is high stage. From the Origin the Trace is manifested to benefit sentient beings throughout past, present, and future: this is long function. Cause and fruit each have three aspects, making six meanings that reveal a wondrousness different from other scriptural teachings.

Next, consider the five flavors. In the milk-flavor teaching, one kind of cause and fruit is broad, high, and long, while another is narrow, low, and short; it therefore contains one coarse and one wondrous. The curds flavor has only one kind of cause and fruit, narrow, low, and short; it has only the coarse and not the wondrous. Raw ghee has three kinds of cause and fruit that are narrow, low, and short and one that is broad, high, and long; it therefore has three coarse and one wondrous. Refined ghee has two kinds that are narrow, low, and short and one that is broad, high, and long; it therefore has two coarse and one wondrous. Clarified essence has only one kind of cause and fruit, broad, high, and long; it has only the wondrous and no coarse. Considered again from the standpoint of truly wondrous cause and fruit, the wondrousness of clarified essence does not differ from the wondrous cause and fruit found in earlier scriptures, and those may therefore also be called wondrous.

Next, contemplate mind. If one contemplates one’s own mind as not possessing the minds of sentient beings and buddhas, its substance is narrow; if it possesses them, its substance is broad. If one’s own mind is not equal to buddha-mind, its stage is low; if they are equal, its stage is high. If one’s own mind, sentient beings’ minds, and buddha-mind are not immediately empty, provisionally established, and the middle, function is short; if they are immediately empty, provisionally established, and the middle, function is long.

Penetrating the ten Dharma realms and the stages of the six identities within one Dharma realm is likewise broad in substance, high in stage, and long in function all at once. The first account, through the ten Dharma realms, reveals the unity of principle. The second, through the five flavors, reveals the unity of teaching. The third, through contemplation of mind, reveals the unity of practice. The fourth, through the six identities, reveals the unity of person. This is only a brief indication of the wondrous meaning.

Extensive Explanation of Dharma: The Dharmas of Sentient Beings, Buddhas, and Mind

For an extensive explanation, Dharma is explained first and wondrousness afterward. Master Nanyue raised three dharmas: the dharmas of sentient beings, the dharmas of buddhas, and the dharmas of mind.

First is the wondrousness of the dharmas of sentient beings. The Lotus Sutra says that the Buddha appears in the world to enable sentient beings to open, reveal, awaken to, and enter the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing. If sentient beings had none of the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, what could be opened? The Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing must therefore already be contained within sentient beings.

The sutra further says that merely with the eye received from one’s parents, one can see through inner and outer Mount Meru. It is originally a physical eye. Its ability to see forms near and far is the function of the heavenly eye. Seeing forms without attachment is the function of the wisdom eye. Seeing forms without error is the function of the Dharma eye. Though one has not yet attained the uncontaminated, the eye faculty is already purified and one eye can perform the functions of all the eyes: this is the buddha-eye. Here the present sutra reveals the wondrousness of the dharmas of sentient beings.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that one who studies the Mahāyāna, though possessing only physical eyes, is said to possess buddha-eyes; the ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind can be understood by analogy. The Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra says that the eye faculty, within the permanence of the tathāgatas, is cultivated completely and without diminution and sees distinctly; the same applies through the mind faculty. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra says that the six faculties are sovereign because their nature is pure. It further uses the form “all dharmas proceed toward form,” saying that neither that which proceeds nor that toward which it proceeds can be obtained. By analogy with the eye faculty, all dharmas proceed toward the eye without passing beyond it, and the same can be said through the mind faculty. These are instances in other scriptures that reveal the wondrousness of the dharmas of sentient beings.

Next is the wondrousness of the dharmas of buddhas. In the sutra, the Buddha stops the assembly and does not hurry to teach because the Dharma he has attained is wondrous and difficult to conceive. The dharmas of buddhas do not go beyond provisional wisdom and real wisdom. That all dharmas are extremely profound and wondrous, difficult to see and understand, and that no sentient being can know the Buddha reveals the wondrousness of real wisdom. That no one can measure the Buddha’s many other skillful Dharmas reveals the wondrousness of provisional wisdom. Only buddhas together with buddhas can exhaust the true mark of all dharmas; therefore the dharmas of buddhas are called wondrous.

Next is the wondrousness of the dharmas of mind. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter says to gather the mind and contemplate all dharmas without movement or retreat; it also teaches practices such as a single thought of rejoicing. The Sutra on Contemplating the Practice of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva says that mind is empty in itself and wrongdoing and merit have no fixed master; contemplate mind and mind cannot be obtained, while Dharma does not abide in Dharma. It also says that mind is purely Dharma. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa says to contemplate the true mark of one’s own body and to contemplate the Buddha in the same way; the liberation of the buddhas should be sought within the mental activity of sentient beings. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that mind, buddhas, and sentient beings are without difference, and uses the simile of a scripture scroll the size of a great trichiliocosm hidden within a mote of dust, which is broken open to bring forth the scroll. These reveal the wondrousness of the dharmas of mind.

Explaining the Dharmas of Sentient Beings Still More Extensively: From One Dharma to the Ten Suchnesses

The three dharmas will now be explained still more extensively. Extensive explanation of the dharmas of sentient beings may encompass all causes, fruits, and dharmas. Extensive explanation of the dharmas of buddhas proceeds mainly from fruit. Extensive explanation of the dharmas of mind proceeds mainly from cause.

The dharmas of sentient beings are treated in two steps: first list enumerations of dharmas, then explain their characteristics. Some scriptures and treatises encompass all dharmas in one Dharma, saying that the three realms contain no separate Dharma and are made only by one mind. Some encompass all dharmas in two, saying that the world contains only name and form. Some encompass them in three—life, consciousness, and warmth. As the number increases, one may continue to hundreds and thousands of Dharma gates.

The present sutra uses ten dharmas to encompass all dharmas: appearance, nature, substance, capacity, activity, cause, condition, fruit, recompense, and the ultimate equality of beginning and end. When Master Nanyue read this passage, he let each phrase end on “such,” and therefore called them the ten suchnesses.

At this point, Guanding first marks the Tiantai Master’s three readings. The first reads “this appearance is such,” “this nature is such,” through “this recompense is such.” The second reads “such is this appearance,” “such is this nature,” through “such is this recompense.” The third reads “appearance such—is,” “nature such—is,” through “recompense such—is.”

When each phrase comes to rest on “such,” suchness means non-difference and reveals immediate emptiness. When the phrase is read “such is this appearance, such is this nature,” appearance and nature are pointed out within emptiness; different names are established and distinctions remain in sequence, revealing immediate provisional establishment. When it is read “appearance such—is, nature such—is,” “is” comes to rest in the true mark of the middle way, revealing the immediate middle.

Emptiness, provisional establishment, and the middle are explained separately to make them easy to understand. When the meaning is truly grasped, emptiness is immediately provisional establishment and the middle. Explaining emptiness through “such” means that when one is empty, all are empty. Pointing through “such” to the several characteristics means that when one is provisionally established, all are provisionally established. Discussing the middle through “is” means that when one is the middle, all are the middle. These are not one, two, or three separate entities, yet they can be spoken of as one, two, and three. They are neither vertically arranged in sequence nor horizontally arrayed side by side. This is called the true mark. Only buddhas together with buddhas exhaust this Dharma. In this way, the ten dharmas encompass all dharmas. According to meaning, they can be distinguished through these three intentions. If one follows only the reading of the verse, it reads “such is the great fruit and recompense, the meaning of the various natures and appearances.”

The Ten Realms, Hundred Realms, Thousand Suchnesses, and Provisional and Real

Next, provisional and real are judged. Guangzhai assigns the first five suchnesses to the provisional and to ordinary people, and the following four to the real and to sages; the ultimate equality of beginning and end then concludes provisional and real. He further treats “great fruit and recompense” in the verse as real and the various natures and appearances as provisional. The present tradition considers this untenable. “Great” can mean large, many, or superior; if only largeness is taken as real, why not multiplicity and superiority? The word “various” expressly carries the meaning of multiplicity. If the provisional belongs only to ordinary people, why would ordinary people be entirely without the real? If the real belongs only to sages, why would sages be entirely without the provisional? This way of suppressing one side cannot be followed. The master from the North assigns the first five to the provisional and the latter five to the real; this too is only a humanly constructed view.

The present tradition applies the ten suchnesses throughout the ten Dharma realms, namely the six destinies and four noble realms. They are all called Dharma realms in three senses.

First, all ten realms are established in reliance on the single Dharma realm, and no other Dharma exists outside it. The ten that rely and the Dharma realm relied upon are named together and are therefore called the ten Dharma realms. Second, the ten kinds of Dharma have different bounds; their causes and fruits are separated, and ordinary and noble differ. The word “realm” is therefore added. Third, each of the ten kinds is itself wholly the Dharma realm and encompasses all dharmas. All dharmas proceed toward the hell realm without passing beyond the hell realm, and so on through the Buddha realm. Each is itself principle, with no other basis upon which it relies.

Viewed as the number ten relying on the Dharma realm, what relies returns into what is relied upon and reveals emptiness. Viewed through the distinct boundaries of the ten realms, it reveals provisional establishment. Viewed as the number ten itself being wholly the Dharma realm, it reveals the middle. The three sides are distinguished only to make them easy to understand. When the meaning is truly grasped, emptiness is itself provisional establishment and the middle; there are not three separate things.

One Dharma realm has the ten suchnesses, and ten Dharma realms therefore have a hundred suchnesses. Each Dharma realm further possesses the other nine Dharma realms, and the mutual inclusion of the ten realms thus forms a hundred Dharma realms. Since each of the hundred realms has ten suchnesses, there are a thousand suchnesses. The ten realms can then be gathered into five classes: first evil, second good, third the Two Vehicles, fourth bodhisattvas, and fifth buddhas. In a rough judgment through two dharmas, the first four classes are provisional and the Buddha real. In fine analysis, every class contains both provisional and real. The present explanation provisionally distinguishes them through these two meanings.

This inconceivable provisional and real is the object illuminated by the provisional and real wisdoms of the buddhas of past, present, and future. As an object, it includes every Dharma. When wisdom arises from this object, every kind of wisdom can arise. The words “all dharmas” in the sutra reveal the breadth of the object illuminated. “Only buddhas together with buddhas can exhaust them” reveals the depth of the illuminating wisdom, reaching the furthest boundary and bottom. That the gate of wisdom is difficult to understand and enter praises the wondrousness of the object. That the wisdom attained by the Buddha is wondrous and foremost praises the matching of wisdom and object.

The prose of the “Skillful Means” chapter briefly teaches this Dharma. Opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering later explain it extensively. The burning house illustrates it, faith and understanding receive it, the elder entrusts it to his son, the medicinal herbs restate and accomplish it, and the conjured city leads people into it. All these contents can be understood through the provisional and real of the ten suchnesses.

The Tathāgata fully knows the bottom and boundary of the ten dharmas. He knows which sentient beings possess a seed-nature and which do not; whose wholesome roots have or have not sprouted; whose have or have not matured; and who can or cannot be liberated. He knows them as they are, without error. Although Aṅgulimāla was evil, his wholesome root of the true mark had matured and he was immediately liberated. Although the monk in the fourth dhyāna was good, erroneous nature and appearance had matured and he could not then receive liberation. The dharmas of sentient beings are inconceivable: though real they are provisional, and though provisional they are real. Provisional and real are mutually identical without obstructing one another. Sentient beings cannot be seen with the eyes of cattle and sheep, nor measured with an ordinary person’s mind. Only a tathāgata’s wisdom can measure them as they are. Therefore the dharmas of sentient beings are wondrous.

Shared Explanation of the Ten Suchnesses

The ten suchnesses are first explained in shared terms and then specifically according to categories.

Appearance is the manifestation that can be observed and distinguished outwardly. Nature is an internal, self-particular tendency that does not readily change. Principal substance and material are called substance. The function something is capable of is called capacity. Operating through the three kinds of action and constructing conduct is called activity. Repeated habituation that can continue with its own kind is cause. What assists the cause to mature is condition. What is obtained from the habitual cause is fruit. What one is drawn by action to undergo is recompense. The initial appearance is the beginning, and the final recompense is the end. Where beginning and end ultimately arrive is called the ultimate equality of beginning and end.

According to the meaning of “such,” beginning and end are both empty and are therefore equal. According to nature and appearance, the beginning already contains the later fruit, while the later fruit can reveal the preceding cause; beginning and end are present in one another and are therefore equal. According to the middle, beginning and end are both the true mark and are therefore equal. The conclusion here does not select only one of the three meanings. Ultimate means completeness in all three dharmas; the middle way is ultimate, and the true mark is equality.

The Ten Dharmas of the Four Lower Destinies

First are the four evil destinies. Appearance is an evil appearance that foretells descent into an undesirable place. Before a disaster occurs, the complexion of decline already appears; a physiognomist can see it and predict misfortune. Once an evil appearance arises, it indicates the fruit of hell from afar. Ordinary people do not know this. The Two Vehicles know it only indistinctly. Bodhisattvas know it but have not exhausted it. Only a buddha knows it to the bottom. Therefore it is called such an appearance.

Nature is the self-particular nature of black evil. Black evil that has been habituated over a long period is difficult to change, like fire within wood that emerges when conditions meet. The meaning of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is that contaminated dharmas possess a nature of arising, and arising conditions can therefore cause them to arise. The evil dharmas of the four destinies possess a nature capable of producing those four destinies and emerge when conditions meet. Clay or wooden images may have an outward appearance but lack an inner nature of arising and therefore cannot truly be born. Evil nature is not like that, and so it is called such a nature.

Substance is the coarse and evil body and mind subjected to crushing. In the present life the mind is crushed first, and in the next life form is crushed as well. The present-life flowering recompense crushes form and mind, and the future fruit-recompense likewise crushes form and mind. The form and mind subjected to crushing are therefore taken as substance.

Capacity is the function of evil. Before an implement is used, the work it is capable of bearing already shows that it has a function. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that one building a house selects wood rather than thread, while one making cloth selects thread rather than clay and wood. Hell has the capacity to ascend mountains of knives and climb forests of swords. Hungry ghosts have the capacity to swallow copper and eat iron. Among animals, the strong subdue the weak, fish devour one another, and animals are harnessed to pull carts and carry burdens. These are evil capacities.

Activity is management and construction: moving body, speech, and mind to establish various evil deeds. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra calls one who commits evil half a person; evil conduct is therefore the activity of hell.

Cause is the cause of evil habit. Seeds of the same kind produce one another, and habituation continues without interruption. Because habit activates them, evil actions form easily. Condition is an assisting condition. Various evil attachments to self and what belongs to self, together with their supporting resources, can help evil habit become action, just as water moistens a seed. Conditions that assist in producing future recompense are here called conditions.

Fruit is habitual fruit. A person of great desire who receives a hell body sees instruments of suffering and still mistakes them for desirable objects, immediately giving rise to defiled craving again. This is fruit produced by habit. Recompense is recompense-fruit. When that person moves toward the desired object, he immediately undergoes the suffering of copper pillars and iron beds. This is the fruit of karmic recompense.

The ultimate equality of beginning and end has three meanings. First, the initial appearance and nature are empty, and the final fruit and recompense are also empty. Second, evil fruit and recompense are already contained within the initial appearance and nature, and the end is therefore equal to the beginning. The initial appearance and nature can also be traced within the later evil fruit and recompense, and the beginning is therefore equal to the end. If the later event were entirely absent at the beginning, the physiognomist could not predict it; if the earlier cause were entirely absent from the later fruit, it could not be traced. Third, the mind of the real principle of the middle way does not differ from the fruit of buddhahood. No color or fragrance is outside the middle way; in principle, beginning and end are equal. Because all three meanings are complete, this is called equality.

Humans and Gods, the Two Vehicles, and Three Kinds of Bodhisattvas

The ten dharmas of humans and gods are explained only in terms of goodness and happiness and differ from the four lower destinies. Appearance indicates upward ascent. Nature is pure, wholesome Dharma. Substance is peaceful and happy body and mind. Capacity is fitness to serve as an instrument of wholesome Dharma. Activity produces the goodness of restraint and the goodness of active practice. Cause is white action. Condition consists in wholesome attachment to self, what belongs to self, and supporting resources. Fruit naturally arises from wholesome mind, and recompense is the natural undergoing of happiness. The ultimate equality of beginning and end is as explained above.

The ten dharmas of the Two Vehicles are explained in terms of the real and uncontaminated. Appearance indicates nirvāṇa. Nature is Dharma that is neither white nor black. Substance is the fivefold Dharma body of discipline, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation. Capacity can move and emerge and is fit to serve as an instrument of the path. Activity is diligent exertion. Cause is uncontaminated right wisdom. Conditions are the various practices assisting the path. Fruit is the four fruits. Because those of the Two Vehicles no longer receive a later birth, uncontaminated recompense is usually not established.

Why is the arising of the truly uncontaminated counted as fruit but not recompense? The arising of the uncontaminated Dharma answers to the cause of cultivation and is habitual fruit. It diminishes birth-and-death and no longer draws a later birth, and is therefore not recompense. The first three fruits still have such recompenses as seven births, one return, or birth in the form realm because residual afflictions of thought have not been cut off, not because the uncontaminated itself serves as recompense.

From a Mahāyāna perspective, the uncontaminated of the Two Vehicles is still called contaminated, and the adornment of merit remains conditioned and contaminated. Śrāvaka saṅgha members have not cut off subtler delusions and still undergo transformational birth. The uncontaminated is therefore cause, ignorance condition, and birth in a transformational land the result; from this perspective, recompense may also be spoken of. At different levels, the Two Vehicles can thus be said to possess nine dharmas or ten.

Bodhisattvas and buddhas are further distinguished through three kinds of bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas of the six perfections explain appearance, nature, substance, and capacity in terms of merit. Wholesome action is cause, affliction is condition, and cutting off the bonds in thirty-four thought-moments is fruit. At the stage of buddhahood there is no further recompense, while bodhisattvas possess all ten dharmas.

Bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching explain appearance and nature in terms of the uncontaminated. Before the sixth stage, residual afflictions of thought are not exhausted and recompense is still received. Once the afflictions of thought are exhausted at the sixth stage, there is no later body; birth is manifested only because vows support residual habits, not as true karmic recompense. Nine are therefore usually taught rather than ten.

Bodhisattvas of the Distinct Teaching discuss the ten dharmas through sequential cultivation of contemplation of the middle way. Though they have cut off shared delusions, they know that they still undergo birth and therefore possess all ten dharmas.

Transformational birth further has three kinds. First is transformational birth undergone without any severance of distinct delusion. This includes those of the Two Vehicles in the Tripiṭaka Teaching and the Three Vehicles in the Shared Teaching. They are like ordinary people undergoing segmented birth-and-death who have not yet subdued delusions of view and thought. Second is transformational birth undergone after distinct delusion has been subdued. This includes practitioners in the thirty mental stages of the Distinct Teaching. They cultivate the middle way but have only subdued and not cut off those delusions, like practitioners on the preparatory path of the Lesser Vehicle. Third is transformational birth after one portion of distinct delusion has been cut off, as with those at the first ground or first abode who have severed delusion. They are like those at the first fruit, who have cut off delusion of views but still undergo seven births.

Those reborn with no severance or with only subdual take preparatory practice and the truly uncontaminated as cause and ignorance as condition. Those reborn after subdual or after cutting off one portion take attachment to Dharmas concordant with the path as cause and ignorance as condition. All three are born in transformational lands and must be distinguished according to the depth of subdual and severance.

The Ten Dharmas of the Buddha Realm and Analysis of Nine and Ten

The ten dharmas of the Buddha realm are all distinguished according to the middle way. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra says that all sentient beings are the mark of awakening and cannot be obtained again. From the side of what sentient beings inherently possess, the condition-cause may therefore be called the Buddha’s appearance. Nature is internal: wisdom and vows remain and are not lost, and wisdom is the buddha-nature of the understanding-cause. The mind pure in its own nature is the direct cause and is the Buddha’s substance. These three are also the three tracks.

Capacity is the initial arising of the resolve for awakening, which already surpasses the Two Vehicles. Activity is the determination established by the four universal vows. Cause is the adornment of wisdom, and condition the adornment of merit. Fruit is the unsurpassed awakening in which one thought corresponds and great awakening appears brightly; this is habitual fruit. Recompense is great parinirvāṇa, complete in the virtue of severance, meditative concentration, samādhi, and all qualities; this is recompense-fruit. Equality of beginning and end means that the three truths of initial appearance and nature do not differ from the three truths at the ultimate.

From the truth of emptiness, the initial suchness of sentient beings through the suchness of buddhas are all equal. From the conventional truth, sentient beings have not yet given rise to the resolve, but a buddha already predicts that they will become buddhas; after becoming a buddha, one also teaches the events of past lives. Beginning and end are present in one another and are therefore provisionally equal. From the truth of the middle, ordinary and noble are both the true mark. The Buddha realm may thus be said to possess nine or ten.

In general terms, every ground has myriad practices. Merit is cause and ignorance condition, while habitual fruit and recompense-fruit are attained in part; all ten dharmas may therefore be complete. The sutra speaks of attaining immeasurable, uncontaminated, pure fruit and recompense; it says that having long cultivated pure conduct in the Dharma of the Dharma King, only today does one attain the fruit and recompense; it also speaks of what is attained through long-cultivated action. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra expresses the wish that the food now offered yield unsurpassed recompense. The Sutra of Humane Kings says that the three worthy stages and ten noble stages abide in fruit and recompense. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha-bhāṣya speaks of dependent-arising birth-and-death and birth-and-death with a later existence. These all discuss fruit and recompense according to successive stages.

This fruit and recompense still has arising and ceasing. Because one portion of ignorance is exhausted, there is ceasing. Because one portion of true illumination grows, there is arising. Because residual ignorance remains, there is still arising; because one portion of delusion has been removed, there is also ceasing. The Da zhidu lun uses the simile of one person able to weed and another able to sow. The myriad practices assist accomplishment like sowing, while wisdom breaks delusion like weeding. The path grows as birth-and-death diminishes; this is the meaning. Each of the forty-one stages can be discussed as possessing the ten dharmas.

Even wondrous awakening must be discussed as nine or ten from different perspectives. Wisdom of the middle way can diminish birth-and-death. While birth-and-death is not yet exhausted, the grounds have different kinds of arising and ceasing. At wondrous awakening, the diminution of birth has been completed; how could there still be a later recompense? Therefore it is said that only the Buddha alone dwells in the pure land and that when the thirty births are exhausted one equals great awakening. Afflictions are exhausted, and there is no further existence within birth-and-death. Wisdom-virtue is complete, and there is no new habitual fruit. Because no later body is received, there is no recompense-fruit. From the perspectives of present and later birth and related distinctions, however, nine and ten may again be discussed separately.

If one follows the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra passage wishing to attain unsurpassed recompense, the Buddha realm’s recompense is unsurpassed. Since buddha-recompense is unsurpassed, its other nine dharmas—appearance, nature, and so on—are all unsurpassed. The appearance and nature of the six destinies fully manifest the five abiding delusions. Those of the Two Vehicles manifest the breaking of the four abiding delusions while ignorance remains. Those of bodhisattvas manifest the sequential breaking of the five abiding delusions. Buddha appearance and nature manifest the knowledge of all modes, pure like space and undefiled by the five abiding delusions. The Buddha realm’s ten dharmas are therefore the most unsurpassed.

Viewed again through what they manifest, the appearance of the six destinies manifests the suffering of birth-and-death. The appearance of the Two Vehicles manifests the joy of nirvāṇa. The appearance of the Buddha realm manifests the permanence, joy, self, and purity of the middle way, which abides neither in birth-and-death nor in nirvāṇa; it is therefore the most unsurpassed. The four lower destinies manifest evil, humans and gods manifest good, the Two Vehicles manifest uncontaminated good, and bodhisattvas and buddhas manifest good that is neither contaminated nor uncontaminated. The Buddha realm is therefore unsurpassed. The six destinies manifest dharmas arising through causes and conditions, the Two Vehicles manifest immediate emptiness, bodhisattvas manifest immediate provisional establishment, and buddhas manifest immediate emptiness, provisional establishment, and the middle. The Buddha realm is therefore unsurpassed.

Moreover, the appearance of the four lower destinies can manifest only evil and not good. The appearance of humans and gods can manifest only good and not evil. The Two Vehicles can manifest only the uncontaminated and cannot also manifest good and evil. Buddha appearance can manifest all appearances together. Understanding Buddha appearance therefore means understanding all appearances universally, and the Buddha realm is thus the most unsurpassed. An intermediate being of hell can see only hell and cannot know the higher destinies. An intermediate being of heaven can know the heavenly destiny and those beneath it, but still cannot be called one who knows correctly and universally. Only Buddha appearance manifests correct and universal knowledge. Because Buddha-wisdom universally knows all appearances, scriptural teaching should also teach all appearances universally.

Applying the Ten Realms across the Five Flavors and Gathering Them through Three Verses

When the ten realms and ten suchnesses are applied across the five flavors, the milk flavor teaches the natures and appearances of the bodhisattva and Buddha realms. Some enter immediate provisional establishment; some enter the immediate middle. Entry into the middle is unsurpassed, yet it still carries one kind of skillful means and is therefore not entirely unsurpassed. The curds flavor teaches only the natures and appearances of the Two Vehicles. It enters only analytic emptiness, has not yet revealed immediate emptiness, and still less the rest; it is therefore not unsurpassed.

Raw ghee reveals four kinds of nature and appearance: some enter analytic emptiness, some immediate emptiness, some immediate provisional establishment, and some the immediate middle. Only the natures and appearances of the Buddha realm enter immediate emptiness, provisional establishment, and the middle, but they still carry three kinds of skillful means and are therefore not unsurpassed. Refined ghee reveals three kinds of nature and appearance: some enter immediate emptiness, some immediate provisional establishment, and some the immediate middle. Only the natures and appearances of the Buddha realm enter the three truths, but they still carry two kinds of skillful means and are therefore not unsurpassed.

The Lotus Sutra teaches that the natures and appearances of all nine realms enter immediate emptiness, provisional establishment, and the middle. Sentient beings are truly the Buddha’s children, and the Buddha is truly like their father. One color and one flavor are purely the Buddha-Dharma, with no other ultimate Dharma. If the natures and appearances of the nine realms in other scriptures have not yet entered the Buddha realm’s three truths, the present sutra opens their skillful means and enables them all to enter. Viewed in their own appearance and nature, they have always been immediately empty, provisionally established, and the middle, and do not wait to be brought in from outside. This is why the Buddha earnestly praises this sutra as the most unsurpassed.

The hundred realms and thousand dharmas are numerous vertically and horizontally. The author therefore gathers them through three verses from scriptures and treatises to make them easier to understand.

The dependent-arising verse of the Madhyamaka Treatise may be matched as follows. The natures and appearances of the six destinies are dharmas arising through causes and conditions. The natures and appearances of the Two Vehicles and bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching correspond to immediate emptiness. Those of bodhisattvas of the six perfections and the Distinct Teaching correspond to provisional naming. Those of the Buddha realm correspond to the middle way. Though brief, the verse encompasses the many preceding meanings.

The nirvāṇa verse may be matched as follows. The natures and appearances of the six destinies are conditioned activities. Those of the Two Vehicles and the Shared Teaching reveal impermanence. Those of bodhisattvas of the Distinct Teaching correspond to the cessation of arising and ceasing. Those of the Buddha realm correspond to the bliss of quiescent cessation. If “when arising and ceasing have ceased, quiescent cessation is bliss” is understood sequentially, it may also describe the natures and appearances of the Distinct Teaching. If quiescent cessation is precisely at the point of arising and ceasing and bliss does not wait until after their extinction, it reveals the natures and appearances of the Buddha realm in the Perfect Teaching.

The shared precept verse of the seven buddhas may be matched as follows. The natures and appearances of the four lower destinies are the evils one must not commit. Those of humans and gods are the many good deeds one should practice. Within purification of one’s own mind are the two kinds of purified mind—analytic and embodied—which correspond to the natures and appearances of the Two Vehicles. Purified mind that enters the provisional corresponds to the natures and appearances of bodhisattvas. Purified mind that enters the middle corresponds to the natures and appearances of the Buddha realm. If one can correlate the natures and appearances of the ten realms with scriptures, treatises, and disciplinary texts, one can penetrate the Dharmas of the Tripiṭaka, Shared, and Distinct teachings and know all dharmas without obstruction. The extensive explanation of the characteristics of the dharmas of sentient beings is complete here.

Extensive Explanation of the Dharmas of Buddhas

Could buddhas possess some Dharma separate from the dharmas of sentient beings? The hundred realms and thousand suchnesses are the Buddha’s object, and only buddhas together with buddhas exhaust this principle. Just as a lid matches the size of its container, boundless Buddha-wisdom illuminates the vast Buddha-object and reaches its source and bottom. This is Dharma that follows the Buddha’s own intent.

Illuminating the natures and appearances, beginnings and ends of the nine realms without missing the slightest thread is Dharma that follows the intent of others. From the bases of Dharma according with the Buddha’s own intent and with the intent of others, the Buddha manifests the traces of the ten realms. The Buddha may manifest his own body or another’s body and may speak words expressing his own intent or the intent of others. His own intent and the intent of others are inconceivable; his own body and another’s body are wondrous, quiescent, and absolute. They are not fixed as provisional or real, yet they can respond to the provisional of the nine realms and the real of the Buddha realm without any diminution of the dharmas of buddhas. Their wondrousness is evident and need not be explained extensively here; it will be clarified again in the “Skillful Means” chapter.

Extensive Explanation of the Dharmas of Mind

How could any of the dharmas explained above depart from mind? The dharmas of sentient beings are simply too broad and the dharmas of buddhas too high for beginners to enter easily. Because mind, buddhas, and sentient beings are without difference, beginning with contemplation of one’s own mind is easier.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that all sentient beings possess higher, middle, and lower concentrations, and that the higher means buddha-nature. To contemplate mind-nature is called the higher concentration. Because the higher includes the lower, it also encompasses the dharmas of sentient beings. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that letting the mind roam through the Dharma realm like space enables one to know the Buddha’s realm. Dharma realm reveals the middle, space reveals emptiness, and the provisional establishment of mind and buddhas as equal through causes and conditions reveals the provisional. Completeness in all three is the Buddha’s realm. Contemplation of mind therefore still possesses the dharmas of buddhas.

Next, consider letting the mind roam through the Dharma realm. When a faculty meets an object and one thought of mind arises, it necessarily belongs to one of the ten realms. Since it belongs to one realm, that realm possesses the hundred realms and thousand dharmas, all complete within a single thought. This mind is like an illusionist, continually making all kinds of sentient beings, aggregates, and lands day and night: from the sentient beings, aggregates, and lands of hell through those of the Buddha realm. Practitioners should choose for themselves which road can be followed.

Next, contemplate mind through the simile of space. If mind is said to arise from itself, it should not need conditions. If mind exists only through conditions, mind itself lacks the power to arise. Mind lacks the power to arise, and conditions lack that power as well. When neither mind nor conditions can be obtained independently, how could their combination suddenly produce arising? Combination itself cannot be obtained, and separation still less can give rise. When even one arising cannot be obtained, how could the hundred realms and thousand dharmas truly exist?

Because mind is empty, all dharmas produced from mind are empty, and this emptiness too is empty. If emptiness is not fixed as emptiness, provisional dharmas can be established within it; provisional establishment too is not fixed as provisional establishment. Neither side of emptiness and provisional establishment is inhabited, and both are ultimately pure. This is the Buddha’s realm, equal above to the dharmas of buddhas and equal below to the dharmas of sentient beings. The dharmas of mind mean that mind, buddhas, and sentient beings are without difference.

Someone asks: how can one thought contain the hundred realms and thousand dharmas? The answer is that three similes may be borrowed to explain it. Their detailed treatment is given separately in the Mohe Zhiguan.

Shared Explanation of Wondrousness: Relational and Absolute

After Dharma has been explained, wondrousness is explained next. Wondrousness is first explained in shared terms and then specifically. Its shared explanation is divided between the gates of relational and absolute wondrousness. The present sutra discusses only these two forms of wondrousness and establishes no third gate outside the absolute and relational. If another gate were invented, what delusion would it cut off and what principle would it reveal? None is established.

First is the relational. The half-word teaching is coarse and the full-word teaching wondrous. Permanent and impermanent, great and small may also await one another in judgments of coarse and wondrous. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra says that Dharma falls neither into being nor nonbeing and that dharmas arise through causes and conditions; this reveals the full-word teaching. It also says that at first beneath the bodhi tree the Buddha defeated Māra, attained the sweet dew of extinction, and accomplished the path. This raises the earlier half-word teaching to reveal the full-word teaching by contrast. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra says that in Jambudvīpa one sees the second turning of the Dharma wheel, taking the first turning at the Deer Park as first and awaiting the Prajñā teaching as second. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra contrasts the past first turning at Vārāṇasī with the present second turning at Kuśinagara. All these scriptures take the Deer Park as half, small, and coarse and await the later full and great as wondrous. Their meaning is the same.

The present Lotus Sutra likewise says that in the past at Vārāṇasī the Dharma wheel of the Four Truths was turned, revealing the arising and ceasing of the five aggregates, whereas now the most wondrous, unsurpassed great Dharma wheel is turned. This similarly takes the Deer Park as coarse and the Lotus as wondrous. The wondrous meanings taught by the scriptures and the coarse teaching awaited are the same. This is the textual meaning.

Someone asks: if the full principle revealed since the Vaipulya teachings is without difference, should they not all be called wondrous?

The answer is that no fixed teaching name or period has been rigidly imposed here, so why suddenly restrict the point to the Vaipulya teachings? Even if that division is provisionally accepted, there is another reason. Bodhisattvas of sharp faculties entered the wondrous in earlier teachings, with no difference from the Lotus. Bodhisattvas of dull faculties and the Two Vehicles still carried skillful means and had to be tempered through the several flavors. The Vaipulya teachings carried the skillful means of raw ghee while teaching the wondrous in relation to the coarse. Prajñā carried the skillful means of refined ghee while teaching the wondrous in relation to the coarse. The present sutra does not mingle two kinds of skillful means but teaches the wondrous in relation to the coarse through pure, true clarified essence. The wondrousness of the earlier teachings and the wondrousness of the present teaching do not differ; the distinction lies only in carrying or not carrying skillful means.

Again, the Tripiṭaka Teaching is only the half-word gate of arising and ceasing and cannot penetrate the full principle, so it is called coarse. The full-word teaching is the gate of non-arising and non-ceasing and can penetrate the full principle, so it is called wondrous. Penetrating the full principle has two kinds. The first carries skillful means while penetrating the full principle. The second directly reveals the full principle. The Vaipulya and Prajñā teachings carry skillful means while penetrating the full principle; the present sutra directly reveals it.

The Madhyamaka Treatise says that for disciples of dull faculties, the Buddha teaches the marks of the arising and ceasing of causes and conditions, while for disciples of sharp faculties, he teaches the marks of their non-arising and non-ceasing.

If one cannot see emptiness immediately within conditioned dharmas and takes only analytic entry into truth as skillful means, it is called coarse. If one sees the dharmas themselves as empty, this is skillful means that penetrates the middle way. If the skillful means that penetrates the middle still carries the two gates of immediate emptiness and provisional establishment while penetrating the middle, it may still be called coarse in relation to something else. If it does not carry a sequence of emptiness and provisional establishment but directly penetrates the middle, it is called wondrous.

Another question asks: the flavors from milk through clarified essence are all called full. How should this simile be understood?

The answer uses ferries. The state has three ferries—large, medium, and small—and there is also a private boat. All carry people from this shore toward the farther shore. The milk flavor resembles the large and medium state ferries, both of which carry people to the farther shore. The curds flavor resembles the small private boat, which carries them only to a river island. Raw ghee has four boats: the small state ferry and private boat carry people to the island, while the large and medium ferries carry them to the farther shore. Refined ghee has three state ferries: one reaches the island and two the farther shore. Clarified essence resembles the great ferry, which carries people directly to the farther shore.

Because all three state ferries belong to the state, all may be called full. The private boat does not belong to the state and is therefore called half. Among the state ferries, however, large, medium, and small still differ in capacity. The great ferry is splendid and carries twice as much, and therefore it alone is called wondrous. Zhiyi uses this simile to explain how the five flavors can all be full yet still differ. This is the simile’s meaning.

Explaining Absolute Wondrousness

Absolute wondrousness has four levels.

First, the three provisional constructs arise according to the attachments of sentient beings. If one enters truth through them, the preceding relational terms cease. Śāriputra therefore says that within the liberation he has heard there are no words. This is the meaning of the absolute in the Tripiṭaka scriptures.

Second, when the three provisional constructs are contemplated according to truth, all worldly things are like illusions and transformations. Phenomena themselves are true; there is not one phenomenon that is not true. What other thing need be awaited in order for them to be called true? Compared with the preceding level, this absolute may still be placed in a relation of before and after. Considered in itself as phenomena immediately true, however, it is the absolute of the Shared Teaching.

Third, when the Distinct Teaching arises, it looks back at the Shared Teaching’s absolute of phenomena immediately true and still judges it to be conventional truth. Because it has not reached great nirvāṇa, it remains within the conventional truth of birth-and-death, and its absolute still has something it awaits. On entering the middle way of the Distinct Teaching, what it awaits ceases.

Fourth, when the Perfect Teaching arises, it teaches the Dharma without discrimination: the boundary is itself the middle, no Dharma is outside the Buddha-Dharma, and all discrimination is extinguished and purified. How could one Buddha-Dharma still be set in relation to another Buddha-Dharma? Since this is the Tathāgata’s Dharma realm, there is no Dharma outside it available for comparison. Whom would one await as coarse? Against what would one become wondrous? Since nothing can be awaited and no graspable absolute remains, one does not know what to call it and provisionally names it “absolute.”

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that what is great is called great because it is immeasurable and inconceivable. Space is not called great because of another, smaller space, and nirvāṇa is likewise not called great nirvāṇa because of a smaller mark. The wondrous is also so: inconceivable and not dependent on the coarse for its name. If one supposes that outside the Dharma realm there is another vast and solitary absolute thing, that itself becomes something grasped. How could it be called absolute?

The Dharma realm is now pure and does not belong to seeing, hearing, awareness, or knowing; it cannot be displayed through words. In the sutra the Buddha stops the assembly and says that his Dharma is wondrous and difficult to conceive. “There is no need to speak” reveals the cessation of words, and “difficult to conceive” reveals the cessation of thought. The sutra further says that Dharma cannot be displayed and that the marks of words are quiescent and extinct, likewise praising the severance of both words and thought. It cannot be displayed through relation, nor through the name and mark “absolute.” Therefore not only relation but attachment to the absolute must be extinguished; only then is this called quiescent extinction.

The sutra further says that all dharmas constantly bear the mark of quiescent extinction and ultimately return to emptiness. When even this emptiness is emptied, neither relational nor absolute remains. The meaning of the Madhyamaka Treatise is that if a Dharma is established by awaiting another, it itself remains relational. Here there is neither a cause of awaiting nor a Dharma established thereby. The treatise then displays the title Lotus and cites the sentence: having attained the forbearance of non-arising, one does not give rise even to non-arising. Having attained the forbearance of non-arising, one still does not give rise to a graspable non-arising. When non-arising itself is not produced, it is called absolute.

If another account is invented outside this, what would it sever and what would it reveal? Words pursuing more words would wander without end and fall only into conceptual proliferation. Discriminating attachment would not cease, and the supposed absolute would never truly come to rest. One could then speak of neither absolute nor relational and set it against both relational and absolute, but names and words would continue pursuing one another and never become absolute.

This is like a foolish dog chasing the clods a person throws, running back and forth in exhaustion while clods continue without end. If one can wondrously awaken to the pivot, still the wind of initial and sustained thought, and clear the water of mind, words and thought cease together. It is like a keen lion that does not chase the clod but pursues the thrower directly. Once the root that produces the clods is removed, the clods naturally cease.

In wondrous awakening, one fully knows that there is no other Dharma outside the Dharma realm that can be severed. From the gate of being, this is the absolute. When even this absolute is severed, it is explained through the gate of emptiness. A good horse enters the correct road as soon as it sees the shadow of the whip. This is called absolute wondrousness.

Concluding through the Two Wondrousnesses, Three Dharmas, and Horizontal and Vertical Axes

Relational and absolute wondrousness separately reveal the wondrousness of the dharmas of sentient beings. The dharmas of buddhas and the dharmas of mind each likewise possess both wondrousnesses, and therefore all three dharmas are called wondrous.

When the preceding four kinds of the absolute are placed within the five-flavor teachings, the milk flavor has two absolutes, the curds flavor one, raw ghee four, refined ghee three, and the present sutra reveals only the one perfect absolute. If the earlier kinds of skillful means are opened, not one fails to enter this wondrous absolute.

Someone asks: why is “absolute” used to explain “wondrous”?

The answer has three levels. First, “absolute” is simply another name for wondrous, just as people praise someone’s ability as outstanding. Second, wondrous is what can sever, and coarse is what is severed. Wondrous has the power to cut off attachment to the coarse, and its name is therefore revealed in relation to the coarse that is severed. Third, what can sever and what is severed progress through Trace, Origin, and contemplation of mind.

When teachings of skillful means were bestowed within the Trace, the great teaching could not arise. Now the great teaching arises, and the teaching of skillful means ceases as an obstruction. What is severed is made to cease through the power of the great teaching, and the latter is therefore called wondrous. When the great teaching within the Trace had arisen, the great teaching of the Origin had not yet been revealed. When the great teaching of the Origin arises, the great teaching within the Trace is transcended as a final boundary. The power that severs the Trace comes from the Origin, and the Origin is therefore called wondrous. Even when the great teaching of the Origin has arisen, if contemplation of mind has not yet arisen, teaching remains in words. When one enters contemplation of mind, causes and conditions become quiescent and the road of language is cut off; the teaching of the Origin then ceases as external words. This cessation is accomplished through contemplation, and contemplation of mind is therefore called wondrous.

Thus the absolute wondrousness of the Trace reveals the wondrousness of the dharmas of sentient beings. The absolute wondrousness of the Origin reveals the wondrousness of the dharmas of buddhas. The absolute wondrousness of contemplation of mind reveals the wondrousness of the dharmas of mind. The preceding four absolutes are arranged horizontally according to the four teachings. Here the three absolutes advance vertically within the Perfect Teaching from Trace to Origin and then to contemplation of mind.

This is the beginning of the separate explanation of wondrous meaning in the Fahua Xuanyi (Profound Meaning of the Lotus). Zhiyi first lists the ten subtleties as a whole, establishes them one by one from passages in the Lotus Sutra, and explains the sequence in which they arise from one another. When he enters the extensive explanation, the first is the subtlety of objects. The chapter first explains separately the ten suchnesses, the twelve links of dependent origination, the Four Truths, the Two Truths, the Three Truths, the One Truth, and no truth. It then opens and combines these objects with one another, showing that although their names are many, the wondrous principle they indicate is unobstructed.

[Section One] General Outline of the Separate Explanation of Wondrous Meaning

The separate explanation of “wondrous” has three aspects. If the three teachings at the Deer Park are called coarse and the one teaching at Vulture Peak wondrous, these belong to teaching within the Trace. When the Trace Gate is unfolded, it has ten layers of wondrous meaning. The Origin Gate, based on the original event of buddhahood in the distant past, likewise teaches the wondrous in ten layers. Trace and Origin both belong to teaching; when contemplation is cultivated in reliance on teaching, contemplation of mind likewise has ten layers of wondrous meaning.

Within the Trace, the dharmas of sentient beings, the dharmas of buddhas, and the dharmas of mind each have ten layers, making thirty in all. Some of their meanings agree with other scriptures, while others differ. The thirty layers of subtlety in the Origin differ entirely from other scriptures. Each of these sixty layers again has relational wondrousness and absolute wondrousness, making one hundred and twenty layers. When coarse Dharma is broken and wondrous Dharma disclosed, the relational wondrousness explained earlier is used. When coarse Dharma is opened so that it manifests the wondrous right where it stands, the absolute wondrousness explained earlier is used.

[Section Two] Headings of the Ten Subtleties and the Meaning of Each Chapter

The ten subtleties within the Trace are: first, the subtlety of objects; second, the subtlety of wisdom; third, the subtlety of practice; fourth, the subtlety of stages; fifth, the subtlety of the Three Dharmas; sixth, the subtlety of stimulus and response; seventh, the subtlety of supernormal power; eighth, the subtlety of teaching the Dharma; ninth, the subtlety of retinues; and tenth, the subtlety of meritorious benefit. The explanation of these ten subtleties has five passes: first, setting out the chapter headings; second, citing scripture as proof; third, explaining their sequence of arising; fourth, extensive explanation; and fifth, concluding with a judgment of provisional and real.

First is setting out the headings. What is the subtlety of objects? It consists of such objects as the ten suchnesses, dependent origination, the Four Truths, the Three Truths, the Two Truths, and the One Truth. These are truths that the buddhas take as their teacher, and they are therefore called the subtlety of objects.

What is the subtlety of wisdom? It consists of the twenty wisdoms, four wisdoms of bodhi; the four wisdoms called lower, middling, higher, and highest; seven kinds of provisional and real; five kinds of three wisdoms; and one wisdom of things as they really are. Because the object illuminated is wondrous, the wisdom that illuminates is wondrous accordingly. Because the Dharma abides constantly, the buddhas also abide constantly. Object and wisdom accord like a case and its lid and are inconceivable; this is called the subtlety of wisdom.

What is the subtlety of practice? It consists of practices taught through increasing numbers, the sequential five practices, and the nonsequential five practices. Wisdom guides practice, and this is therefore called the subtlety of practice.

What is the subtlety of stages? It consists of the stages of three grasses, two trees, and one reality. The stages entered through wondrous practice are called the subtlety of stages.

What is the subtlety of the Three Dharmas? It consists of the general Three Dharmas, vertical Three Dharmas, horizontal Three Dharmas, Three Dharmas that are neither vertical nor horizontal, and analogically penetrating Three Dharmas. All belong to the secret treasury, and they are therefore called the subtlety of the Three Dharmas.

What is the subtlety of stimulus and response? It consists of fourfold stimulus and response, thirty-sixfold stimulus and response, twenty-five forms of stimulus and response, and stimulus and response in the Distinct and Perfect Teachings. The water does not rise, nor does the moon descend, yet one moon can appear universally in all waters at once. The buddhas do not come, nor do sentient beings go, yet through the power of compassionate wholesome roots the event of stimulus and response is seen. This is therefore called the subtlety of stimulus and response.

What is the subtlety of supernormal power? It consists of supernormal powers attained through recompense, attained through cultivation, exercised through intention, embodied in Dharma, and the transformation of a transformation that is karmically indeterminate. This is function that, without prior planning, can be skillful, correspond to causes and conditions, and transform. Whether another is far from or near the Buddha, and whether wholesome roots still need to be planted, are already maturing, or are ready for liberation, all supernormal powers serve the One Buddha Vehicle. This is therefore called the subtlety of supernormal power.

What is the subtlety of teaching the Dharma? It consists of teaching the twelve divisions, the lesser divisions, the great divisions, Dharma that follows faculties and conditions, the Dharma signified, and the perfectly wondrous Dharma. The Buddha teaches fully and in accord with principle as it really is, enabling all sentient beings to open, reveal, awaken to, and enter the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing. This is therefore called the subtlety of teaching the Dharma.

What is the subtlety of retinues? It consists of retinues through karma, supernormal powers, vows, response, and Dharma-gates. They are like clouds surrounding a bright moon, and like ministers and powerful clans surrounding a sovereign before and behind. This is therefore called the subtlety of retinues.

What is the subtlety of meritorious benefit? It consists of benefit as fruit, cause, emptiness, provisionality, Middle, and transformational birth-and-death. It is like the ocean receiving the great rain poured down by dragon kings. This is therefore called the subtlety of meritorious benefit.

[Section Three] Establishing the Ten Subtleties from the Lotus Sutra

The second pass is scriptural proof. Here only passages from the Trace Gate are cited. Passages from the Origin Gate are not yet cited, much less passages from other scriptures.

The scripture says that all Dharmas have suchness of characteristics and so forth, and that only a buddha together with a buddha can exhaust the true mark of all dharmas. The true mark is the gate into buddha-wisdom, and this gate is the object. The scripture also says that the profound and wondrous Dharma is difficult to see and difficult to understand, and that only the Buddha and the buddhas of the ten directions can know this characteristic. These passages establish the subtlety of objects.

The scripture further says that the Buddha’s wisdom is wondrous and foremost; that the Buddha seeks the unsurpassed path through this wondrous wisdom; and that the uncontaminated, inconceivable, profound, and wondrous Dharma is known in its true characteristic only by the Buddha. These passages establish the subtlety of wisdom.

The scripture further says that the Buddha originally approached innumerable buddhas and fully practiced the various paths, and that after completing these paths he finally attained the fruit at the place of awakening. It says that the assembly joined palms reverently and single-mindedly wished to hear the complete path. It also says that all Dharmas from the beginning constantly bear the characteristics of quiescent extinction, and that after buddha-children complete the practice of the path, in a future life they attain buddhahood. These passages establish the subtlety of practice.

The four kinds of flowers raining from heaven represent four classes of stages: abiding, practice, dedication, and grounds. Opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering also carry the meaning of stages. Riding the great jeweled cart to roam in the four directions indicates stages of cause; going directly to the place of awakening indicates the stage of fruit. These passages establish the subtlety of stages.

The scripture says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle and, according to the Dharma attained, is adorned by the powers of concentration and wisdom. The Great Vehicle is true nature, concentration is supporting accomplishment, and wisdom is contemplative illumination. This therefore establishes the subtlety of the Three Dharmas.

The scripture says that the Buddha reflected upon this matter for three times seven days; that the Buddha contemplated with the buddha-eye and saw sentient beings in the six paths; that all sentient beings are the Buddha’s children; and that the poor son saw his father seated on the lion couch from afar. These passages show the Buddha who can respond illuminating the faculty that provides stimulus, and they establish the subtlety of stimulus and response.

At that time the Buddha, the World-Honored One, entered samādhi and manifested a rare and inconceivable event. This establishes the subtlety of supernormal power.

The scripture says that the Tathāgata can distinguish in various ways, skillfully teach the Dharmas, and delight the minds of the assembly through gentle words. Śāriputra also says that on hearing the Buddha’s gentle voice, he found it profound, far-reaching, and exceedingly wondrous. The scripture further says that all the Dharma taught by the Buddha reaches the ground of omniscience; that the Buddha teaches only the unsurpassed path; and that among scriptures taught in the past, present, and future, this scripture is the most difficult to believe and understand. These passages establish the subtlety of teaching the Dharma.

The scripture says that the Buddha teaches only bodhisattvas and has no śrāvaka disciples. This establishes the subtlety of retinues.

The scripture further says that people in the present or future who hear even one line or one verse will all receive a prediction of unsurpassed bodhi; that those who hear for even a moment can reach ultimate unsurpassed bodhi; that if the Buddha transformed beings only through the Small Vehicle, he would fall into the fault of stinginess and greed concerning the Dharma, which is impossible; and that the Buddha will ultimately not let one person alone attain extinction, but will cause everyone to become extinct through the Tathāgata’s extinction. These passages establish the subtlety of meritorious benefit.

[Section Four] The Sequence in Which the Ten Subtleties Arise

The third pass explains arising. The object of the true mark is not made by a buddha, a god, or a human being. It is originally thus and did not first appear today, so it is listed first. Delusion about truth gives rise to confusion, while understanding truth produces wisdom. Wisdom is the basis of practice. With the eyes of wisdom, the feet of practice arise. Eyes, feet, and object form one vehicle. Riding this vehicle, one can enter the cooling pool and ascend the various stages.

Where does one abide after ascending the stages? One abides in the secret treasury of the Three Dharmas. Having abided in this Dharma, one is quiescent yet constantly illuminating and universally illuminates the faculties of sentient beings in the ten Dharma realms. When faculties offer stimulus, the Buddha must respond. In descending in response to faculties, the Buddha first uses the wheel of the body to manifest supernormal powers and awaken people. When sentient beings have seen the transformations and can receive the Dharma of the path, the Buddha then uses the wheel of speech to teach, reveal, and guide. Having received the Dharma-rain and accepted the path according to the teaching, sentient beings become Dharma-retinues. Practicing according to the teaching, the Dharma-retinues uproot birth-and-death, open the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, and obtain great benefit.

The first five subtleties concern one’s own practice; their causes and fruits are complete. The latter five concern transforming others; both the transforming agent and those transformed are complete. Although Buddha-Dharma is immeasurable, these ten meanings complete its purport. One’s own practice and the transformation of others, from beginning to end, both reach the ultimate. Here the first part of Fascicle Two of the Xuanyi ends. The second part of Fascicle Two begins below and is still titled as spoken by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai.

[Section Five] Extensive Explanation of the Six Objects and the Four Chapters on Dependent Origination

The fourth pass extensively explains the subtlety of objects. It has two major parts: first explaining the various objects, and second discussing the similarities and differences among them.

Six kinds of objects are explained: first, the ten suchnesses; second, dependent origination; third, the Four Truths; fourth, the Two Truths; fifth, the Three Truths; and sixth, the One Truth. The scriptures each accord with faculties and conditions and teach an enormous number of objects. It is impossible to record them all, so only these six are briefly presented.

The sequence of the six objects has an intent. The ten suchnesses are directly taught by the Lotus Sutra, so they come first. Next are the twelve links of dependent origination, which disclose the complete continuity of transmigration through the three times. After the Buddha appears in the world and distinctly and skillfully reveals them, the name Four Truths arises. The text then moves from the extensive to the concise and clarifies the Two Truths. The meaning of the Two Truths remains comparatively general, so the Middle Way is specially disclosed through the Three Truths. The Three Truths still carry provisionally established names; reality is therefore directly disclosed as the One Truth. The One Truth still has name and characteristic, so no truth is taught last. From ignorance all the way through the limit of reality, these six objects are sufficient in brief. The first object, the ten suchnesses, was explained earlier.

The second explains dependent origination as an object and has four chapters: first, direct explanation; second, judging coarse and wondrous; third, opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous; and fourth, contemplation of mind. The direct explanation has four kinds: first, conceivable arising-and-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination; second, conceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination; third, inconceivable arising-and-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination; and fourth, inconceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination.

[Section Six] Conceivable Arising-and-Ceasing Twelvefold Dependent Origination

The first two kinds of conceivable dependent origination explain Dharmas within the three realms for two classes of people, those of sharp and dull faculties. The Treatise on the Middle says that the arising-and-ceasing characteristics of the twelve links of dependent origination are taught for disciples of dull faculties. This distinguishes them from the false views of non-Buddhists. Some non-Buddhists falsely maintain that all Dharmas are born from Īśvara, some that they are born from primordial nature, some that they are born from atoms, some that they are born from parents, and some that they arise without cause. None of these investigations accords with correct principle.

Correct dependent origination differs from these false views. All fair and ugly differences among the fruits of suffering in the six paths come from the volitional activities made by the inverted mind of ignorance in the past. The Saddharma-smṛty-upasthāna Sūtra uses the simile of a painter: a painter distributes five colors and paints every kind of fair and ugly image, more than can be counted. When the root of all the images is investigated, all come from the painter’s hand. The differences among the six paths are not made by Īśvara and the others; all emerge from one thought of ignorance.

When ignorance combines with a high grade of unwholesome karma, it produces the dependent origination of hell, like painting the color black. When ignorance combines with a middling grade of unwholesome karma, it produces the dependent origination of animals, like painting red. When ignorance combines with a low grade of unwholesome karma, it produces the dependent origination of hungry ghosts, like painting blue. When ignorance combines with a low grade of wholesome karma, it produces the dependent origination of asuras, like painting yellow. When ignorance combines with a middling grade of wholesome karma, it produces the dependent origination of humans, like painting white. When ignorance combines with a high grade of wholesome karma, it produces the dependent origination of gods, like painting the finest white.

One should therefore know that when ignorance combines with volitional activities, within the six paths there are name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging, illness, death, and so forth. These in turn differ according to high, middling, and low grades of karma. The suffering and pleasure among humans, gods, and the other destinies differ in ten thousand ways, yet all move from birth toward death and are born again after death. The three times revolve like a wheel or an unceasing ring of fire. A scripture says that a swirling and rapid river submerges sentient beings; blinded by ignorance, they cannot emerge. Scriptures also call the twelve links twelve interlocking chains that restrain beings, twelve fortified cities, and twelve gardens of thorns. These twelve links of dependent origination constantly arise anew and cease, unable to abide from thought to thought. They are therefore called arising-and-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination.

The following makes further distinctions. The fourth fascicle of the Yingluo says that ignorance conditions volitional activities and that one link produces a complete set of twelve, and so on through birth conditioning aging-and-death, each link producing twelve. This makes one hundred and twenty forms of dependent origination. The initial ignorance is delusion, and there is still delusion all the way through aging-and-death. Because there is no awareness, it is called delusion; from the beginning through aging-and-death there is no awareness. One is born through delusion and dies through delusion. If one can become aware of dependent origination, dependent origination no longer operates. When delusion no longer operates, future birth-and-death is exhausted. This is called keen wisdom, and keen wisdom accords with the correct path.

Are the twelve originating conditions and the twelve conditionally arisen the same or different? Both belong to all conditioned Dharmas, so they can be said not to differ. Yet a distinction can also be made: cause is called originating condition and fruit conditionally arisen. In the cause and fruit of the three times, the two past links of ignorance and volitional activities are originating conditions; the five present links of consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, and feeling are conditionally arisen. The three present links of craving, grasping, and existence are again originating conditions; the two future links of birth and aging-and-death are again conditionally arisen. Link by link, ignorance is originating condition and volitional activities conditionally arisen. Continuing to the end, birth is originating condition and aging-and-death conditionally arisen.

They can also be arranged in four alternatives. First, only originating condition and not conditionally arisen: the two future links of birth and aging-and-death. Second, only conditionally arisen and not originating condition: the two past links of ignorance and volitional activities, and the five aggregates at the final death of an arhat in the present. Third, both originating condition and conditionally arisen: all past and present Dharmas other than the two past links and the five aggregates at the present final death of an arhat. Fourth, neither originating condition nor conditionally arisen: unconditioned Dharmas.

The Dharmakāya Sūtra makes a different distinction. If ignorance certainly produces volitional activities, the two are not separated and always follow one another; this is called originating condition and not conditionally arisen. If ignorance does not certainly produce volitional activities and the two are sometimes separated and do not follow one another, this is called conditionally arisen and not originating condition. The distinction can be carried all the way through aging-and-death. Venerable Vasumitra says that a cause is originating condition and a Dharma born from the cause is conditionally arisen; conjunction is originating condition and a Dharma born from conjunction is conditionally arisen.

Teaching the two past links in the twelve links of dependent origination can stop the view of permanence. Teaching the two future links can stop the view of annihilation. Teaching the eight present links reveals the Middle Way that falls into neither annihilation nor permanence. From the three present causes of craving, grasping, and existence, one infers the two future fruits of birth and aging-and-death. From the five present fruits of consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, and feeling, one infers the two past causes of ignorance and volitional activities. In fact, each of the three times fully possesses the twelve links. They are established in this way only to clarify cause and fruit by inference.

The twelve links can also be explained according to twelve periods in a human life. Ignorance is the period when the various past afflictions and fetters operate. Volitional activities are the period when the various past karmas are made. Consciousness is the period when the mind of continuity and its accompanying mental Dharmas operate. Name-and-form is the period after the continuity of birth has been received, when the four material faculties have not yet emerged and the six sense fields are not yet complete. It includes the five embryonic stages: first kalala, second arbuda, third peśī, fourth ghana, and fifth praśākhā.

The six sense fields are the period when the four material faculties have emerged and the six sense fields are complete but the faculties still cannot serve as the bases of contact. Contact is the period when the faculties can serve as bases of contact but one still cannot distinguish suffering from pleasure or avoid danger: one grasps fire, touches poison, and picks up knives and impure things. Feeling is the period when one can distinguish suffering and pleasure, avoid danger, and produce ordinary craving, but sexual desire has not yet arisen and one is not yet defiled by attachment to all things. Craving is the period when the three feelings—painful, pleasant, and neither painful nor pleasant—are complete and craving arises from them. Grasping is the period when, through attachment to objects, one seeks in the four directions. Existence is the period when, during this seeking, the three karmas of body, speech, and mind are set in motion. Birth is the period when present consciousness will turn to take future birth. Aging-and-death is the period when present name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, and feeling will turn to future decline and destruction.

All twelve links of dependent origination can also be complete in one instant of killing. If a person kills through greed, the delusion corresponding to the mind of killing is ignorance; the corresponding act of volition is volitional activities; the corresponding mind is consciousness. Once an active karma has arisen, it necessarily possesses name-and-form and the six sense fields. Corresponding contact is contact, corresponding feeling is feeling, and greed itself is craving. The corresponding entanglement is grasping. The karma of killing performed by body and speech is existence. The arising of these corresponding Dharmas is birth; their alteration is aging; and their destruction is death.

Someone asks: why is illness not separately established as a link? The answer is that only a Dharma necessarily present at every time and in every place is separately established as a link. Some people pass a lifetime without illness. Bakula, for example, did not even know a headache from birth onward, much less another illness. Illness is therefore not established as a link.

Another question is asked: are sorrow, lamentation, and distress a link? The answer is no. The scriptural wording only uses the sorrow and lamentation at the end of life to reveal what is contained in the link of aging-and-death.

Another question is asked: does ignorance have a cause, and does aging-and-death have a fruit? If they have cause and fruit, these should also be separately established as links; if they do not, one falls into absence of cause and fruit. The answer is that both have them, but they are not separately established as links. The cause of ignorance is improper attention, and the fruit of aging-and-death is sorrow and lamentation. It can also be said that ignorance takes aging-and-death as cause and aging-and-death takes ignorance as fruit. Present craving and grasping are the ignorance of the past. If the four present links of name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, and feeling are viewed in the future, they are called aging-and-death. Since it is said that feeling conditions craving, one should likewise know that aging-and-death again conditions ignorance. Like a wheel whose front and back connect, they condition one another.

Those born from a womb in the desire realm possess all twelve links. Some say that the form realm has only eleven links, lacking name-and-form, while the formless realm has only ten, lacking name-and-form and the six sense fields. Another interpretation holds that all three realms possess all twelve links. When beings of the form realm are newly born and their faculties are not yet keen, this can be called name-and-form. Although the formless realm lacks form, it still has mental Dharmas and can therefore still be said to possess all twelve links.

Another question is asked: how do ignorance and volitional activities differ from craving, grasping, and existence? The answer is that the first two links and latter three links belong respectively to past and present; one set is old and the other new. The first two have already given the present fruit; the latter three have not yet given the future fruit. Their difference is established on this basis.

The Remaining Three Kinds of Twelvefold Dependent Origination

Second is conceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination. Through a skillful method, it breaks the preceding direct but clumsy understanding. The Treatise on the Middle says that the non-arising and non-ceasing of the twelve links of dependent origination is taught for disciples of sharp faculties. Delusion is like empty space, and so is aging-and-death. Ignorance is like an illusion and cannot be obtained, and so are all the links through aging-and-death. The Golden Light Sūtra says that the substance and characteristics of ignorance originally do not exist and exist only through the conjunction of deluded thought and conditions.

Ignorance is made through the mental activity of improper attention, like an illusionist at a crossroads conjuring various elephants, horses, necklaces, and people. Foolish people believe that all are real; the wise know that they are not. Ignorance conjures the dependent and primary retributions of the six paths. One should know that they never existed of themselves and are made only by ignorance. It is also like someone seeing a vine and mistaking it for a snake. Once one knows the vine was never a snake, fear no longer arises; because it does not arise, there is nothing to cease. This is the characteristic of conceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination.

Third is inconceivable arising-and-ceasing dependent origination. This gate breaks the Small Vehicle and discloses the Great Vehicle, teaching for two classes of sharp and dull faculties beyond the realms. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that the mind is like a skillful painter making the various five aggregates, and that within all worlds there is nothing not made from mind. The painter represents the ignorant mind. “All worlds” includes provisionally named sentient beings in the ten Dharma realms, the real Dharmas of the five aggregates, and the various lands.

Treatises differ in how they say the mind produces all Dharmas. Some say ālaya is true consciousness and that all Dharmas arise from it. Some say ālaya is the non-disappearing consciousness, a karmically indeterminate ignorance, and that all Dharmas arise from it. If this consciousness is grasped as possessing a fixed real nature, one falls into the error of primordial darkness producing awareness and awareness then producing an ego-mind. This cannot even establish conceivable dependent origination within the realms; how could it establish inconceivable dependent origination beyond the realms? If the delusion contemplated were not an inconceivable object, how could the understanding obtained by reversing delusion become inconceivable wisdom? This attachment is separately refuted in the Mohe Zhiguan.

The ignorant mind now under discussion does not arise from itself, from another, from self and other together, or without cause. When sought through the four alternatives, it cannot be obtained and is therefore inconceivable. If one relies on the conditions of the four siddhāntas, it can nevertheless still be explained according to conditions. A dream itself cannot be found when sought through the four alternatives, yet one can still say that a person sees all events in a dream. In the same way, ignorance cannot be found when sought through the four alternatives, yet one can still say that all Dharmas within and beyond the realms emerge from ignorance. Twelvefold dependent origination within the realms is as explained earlier. What follows concerns the twelve links beyond the realms.

The Ratnagotravibhāga says that when arhats and pratyekabuddhas observe through emptiness-wisdom, there are still spheres in the Tathāgata’s body that they have never seen. Although people of the Two Vehicles cultivate the four counteractive practices of impermanence, suffering, no-self, and impurity, when seen in relation to the Tathāgata’s Dharma-body these understandings remain inverted. Inversion is ignorance. Abiding in the uncontaminated realm, they still have four obstructions: condition, characteristic, arising, and destruction.

First, condition is the ground of abiding in ignorance serving as the condition for volitional activities. Second, characteristic is ignorance and volitional activities jointly serving as cause. Third, arising is the ground of abiding in ignorance together with uncontaminated karma serving as cause to produce three kinds of mind-made body. Fourth, destruction is the three kinds of mind-made body being destroyed in dependence on inconceivable transformational birth-and-death. This remains like the twelve links within the realms, from ignorance through aging-and-death. Condition is the link of ignorance. Characteristic is the link of volitional activities. Arising includes the five links beginning with name-and-form. The three links of craving, grasping, and existence can be known according to the preceding example. Destruction includes the two links of birth and death. Although the number of links is the same as within the realms, their meaning is profoundly different.

The Ratnagotravibhāga further says that because the three kinds of mind-made body have not left the defilement of ignorance, they have not attained the ultimate unconditioned great purity. Because ignorance and subtle conceptual proliferation have not been extinguished forever, they have not attained the ultimate unconditioned great self. Because ignorance and subtle conceptual proliferation accumulate, the mental aggregates produced through uncontaminated karma have not been extinguished forever, so they have not attained the ultimate unconditioned great bliss. Because the defilements of affliction, karma, and birth have not been ultimately extinguished, they have not realized the ultimate permanence of the deathless.

Therefore, through the affliction-track represented by condition, great purity cannot be attained. Through the karma-track represented by characteristic, the self of eight forms of mastery cannot be attained. Through the suffering-track represented by arising, great bliss cannot be attained. Through aging-and-death represented by destruction, unchanging permanence cannot be attained. This is the characteristic of inconceivable arising-and-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination beyond the realms.

Fourth is inconceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination, which directly reveals principle within phenomena for people of sharp faculties. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the twelve links of dependent origination are called buddha-nature. Ignorance, craving, and grasping are the affliction-track, and the affliction-track itself is bodhi. Bodhi penetrates and clearly understands, so affliction no longer exists. Once affliction is exhausted there is ultimate purity, which is the buddha-nature as understanding-cause. Volitional activities and existence are the karma-track, and the karma-track itself is liberation. Liberation is mastery, which is the buddha-nature as condition-cause. Name-and-form and aging-and-death are the suffering-track, and the suffering-track itself is the Dharma-body. The Dharma-body transcends suffering and pleasure and is therefore great bliss. Neither born nor dying, it is permanence, which is the buddha-nature as direct cause.

The scripture therefore says that the interval between the two ends of ignorance and craving is the Middle Way. Ignorance belongs to the past and craving to the present. Neither the two sides nor the interval is anything other than buddha-nature; all are permanence, bliss, self, and purity. Ignorance does not arise and likewise does not cease. This is inconceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination.

[Section Seven] Judging, Opening, and Contemplating Dependent Origination

Dependent origination as an object does not itself have fixed coarseness or wondrousness. Only because the understanding of it is shallow or deep do differences arise level by level.

The first understanding is that ignorance produces volitional activities, all the way through birth conditioning aging-and-death. The three links of affliction—ignorance, craving, and grasping—produce the two karmic links of volitional activities and existence. The two karmic links produce the seven links of suffering: consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, feeling, birth, and aging-and-death. The seven links of suffering again produce the three links of affliction. Three produce two, two produce seven, and seven again produce three; they turn in succession as causes and conditions. Affliction conditions karma, and karma in turn conditions suffering; all is impermanent, arising and ceasing. The Treatise on the Middle judges this to have been taught for people of dull faculties. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra calls it the repeatedly diligent teaching of the half-word. The Lotus Sutra says that merely leaving the false and deluded is called liberation. Taking the object on this level is therefore still coarse and shallow.

The second understanding is that the substance and characteristics of ignorance originally do not exist and exist only through the conjunction of deluded thought and conditions. Because the object contemplated is illusory, the wisdom that contemplates likewise cannot be obtained. A scripture says that even if there were one Dharma surpassing nirvāṇa, the Buddha would teach it to be like an illusion and a transformation. The Treatise on the Middle calls this a teaching for people of sharp faculties. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra calls it the elder’s instruction. The Pi-jiā-luo Treatise and the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra call it truthful and skillful crossing. The Lotus Sutra uses the simile of a small tree. Compared with the preceding kind, this object is more skillful and wondrous.

The third understanding is that ignorance serves as condition; from condition arises characteristic, from characteristic comes arising, and because of arising there is destruction. Extinguishing condition attains purity; removing characteristic attains self; exhausting arising attains bliss; absence of destruction attains permanence. The Treatise on the Middle says that Dharmas produced through dependent origination are also called provisional names. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra calls the twelve links a Dharma exclusive to bodhisattvas. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that by extinguishing ignorance one attains blazing radiance. The Lotus Sutra uses the simile of a growing great tree. This level is more wondrous than the preceding one but is still coarse beside the next.

The fourth understanding is that the three tracks of ignorance, karma, and suffering are immediately the three virtues of Dharma-body, prajñā, and liberation. The three tracks need not first be severed and the three virtues then sought somewhere else. The Treatise on the Middle says that Dharmas produced through dependent origination are also called the meaning of the Middle Way. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra explains that the twelve links are precisely sitting at the place of awakening. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the interval between the two ends of ignorance and craving is the Middle Way. The Lotus Sutra says that the seed of buddhahood arises from conditions and therefore teaches the One Buddha Vehicle; it also calls this the one matter that is most real. How could this not be wondrous? The first three kinds are skillful means and are therefore judged coarse. The last reveals the real and is therefore judged wondrous.

If these four kinds of dependent origination are placed within the teachings of the five flavors, the milk flavor simultaneously has two kinds, one coarse and one wondrous. The curds flavor has only one coarse kind. Raw ghee has three coarse and one wondrous. Refined ghee has two coarse and one wondrous. The Lotus Sutra teaches only one wondrous kind. This is the disclosure of wondrous dependent origination in relation to coarse dependent origination.

Next is opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous. The Lotus Sutra says that Buddha-Dharma is wondrous and difficult to conceive. Since the first three kinds of dependent origination are all Buddha-Dharma, how could one of them be a conceivable coarse Dharma permanently separated from inconceivable wondrous Dharma? The meaning of liberation cannot be taught apart from words. One should precisely realize that the conceivable itself is inconceivable.

It is like an elder giving the poor son vessels, rice, and flour; these things then belong to the poor son. Once the natural relation of father and son is certain, the poor son is no longer an outside hired laborer. The vessels have also returned to his own household; how could they still be called another’s property? Likewise, only within inconceivable Dharma does the Tathāgata use skillful means to teach coarse dependent origination. How could students guard that coarse Dharma and regard it as something outside wondrous Dharma? The śrāvaka Dharma is now decisively clarified, showing that the Lotus Sutra is king among all scriptures. This opens the first two kinds of dependent origination so that they likewise manifest the wondrous.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra further says that the Buddha opens and develops the wisdom-eye for śrāvakas. Their former wisdom-eye saw emptiness but not nonemptiness. Once opened and developed, it can now also see nonemptiness, and seeing nonemptiness is seeing buddha-nature. The scripture therefore says that although the wisdom-eye can see, it does not see with complete clarity; only when the Buddha sees with the buddha-eye is there complete clarity. This decisively clarifies what the bodhisattva wisdom-eye sees and opens the third kind of dependent origination so that it enters absolute wondrousness.

Last is contemplation of mind. Contemplate the present thought of ignorance as itself illumination. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that ignorance that is illumination is ultimate emptiness. When emptiness-wisdom illuminates ignorance, ignorance is pure right where it stands. It is like a thief in a house: once the master has become aware, the thief can do nothing. Not being stained by ignorance is purity of the affliction-track. When affliction is pure there is no karma; without karma there is no bondage; without bondage there is the freedom of self.

When self is free and not bound by karma, who could receive name-and-form, contact, and feeling? Without receiving there is no suffering. Without the aggregates of suffering, who could migrate and be destroyed? This is the virtue of permanence. One thought already fully possesses the twelve links of dependent origination. When contemplating the twelve links, one should constantly contemplate permanence, bliss, self, and purity. When thought after thought abides in the secret treasury and constantly performs this contemplation, it is called entrusting oneself to the noble womb. When contemplative practice matures, the respective parts of the noble womb gradually become complete. When ignorance is broken, this is called emerging from the noble womb.

[Section Eight] Direct Explanation of the Four Kinds of Four Truths

Third are the Four Truths as objects. This topic likewise has four chapters: first, clarifying the Four Truths; second, judging coarse and wondrous; third, opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous; and fourth, contemplation of mind. The first chapter has two parts: first listing an old interpretation, then directly teaching the four sets of Four Truths.

An old master explained the boundless noble truths in the Śrīmālā Sūtra as showing the Buddha’s ultimate realization in contrast with the Two Vehicles, for whom something still remains. What the Two Vehicles contemplate are the constructed Four Noble Truths, which are the measurable Four Noble Truths. What the Buddha realizes are the unconstructed Four Noble Truths, which are the immeasurable Four Noble Truths. According to this explanation, constructed and unconstructed concern practice, while measurable and immeasurable concern the Dharma contemplated. Those of the Two Vehicles contemplate the truths, but the Dharma attained is not exhausted and there is still something to be done; they are therefore called constructed. Because the Dharma attained is not exhausted, it has a definite measure. The scripture’s statement “knowing through another” indicates constructed practice. Since knowledge depends on another, it is not omniscience and cannot know immeasurable Dharma; it is therefore called constructed and measurable. Buddha-wisdom is inexhaustible and nothing remains to be done, so it is called unconstructed. Knowing all through one’s own power is unconstructed practice; all that is known is immeasurable Dharma. Although this interpretation lists four names, it actually produces only two meanings and is not the account adopted in this treatise.

The four kinds of Four Truths taught in this treatise are: first, arising-and-ceasing; second, non-arising; third, immeasurable; and fourth, unconstructed. Their meanings come from the “Noble Practice” chapter of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and are divided into four according to partial and perfect, phenomena and principle.

First are the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths. People in this class are heavily deluded about truth, so the names are established from phenomena. Suffering and accumulation are actually one Dharma but are divided into two truths as fruit and cause. The path and cessation are likewise one Dharma but are divided into two truths as cause and fruit. A verse in the Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya Treatise says that the fruit-nature of all contaminated conditioned activities is called the truth of suffering; their causal nature is called the truth of accumulation; the ultimate extinction of all contaminated Dharmas is called the truth of cessation; and all uncontaminated conditioned activities are called the truth of the path.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the five aggregates and twelve sense fields press down like a heavy burden and bind sentient beings; this is the truth of suffering. The delusions of views and craving can call forth future recompense; this is the truth of accumulation. Precepts, concentration, wisdom, and contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and emptiness can remove the root of suffering; this is the truth of the path. The complete severing of the causal and resultant bonds of the twenty-five forms of existence is the truth of cessation. The Sūtra of the Buddha’s Bequeathed Teaching says that accumulation truly is the cause of suffering, with no other cause, and that the road extinguishing suffering is the true path. These passages all clarify the characteristics of the arising-and-ceasing Four Noble Truths.

The Four Truths are arranged from coarse to fine. The characteristic of suffering as fruit is coarsest, so suffering is taught first. Although cessation is not ultimate truth, it can be used to join the true, and its characteristic is comparatively coarse, so it is taught before the path. Again, the worldly fruit of suffering is first presented so that one becomes disenchanted with the cause of accumulation that produces worldly suffering. Cessation is then taught as joining the supramundane fruit so that one aspires to the road leading to cessation. Suffering, accumulation, cessation, and path are therefore arranged as a sequence of guidance.

They are called “noble” because they are correct and can break false Dharmas. “Truth” has three explanations. First, its own nature is not false, so it is called truth. Second, illuminating these four Dharmas produces undeluded awakening, so they are called truth. Third, one can use these four Dharmas to show others clearly, so they are called truth. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that ordinary beings have suffering but no truth, while śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas have both suffering and the truth of suffering. Ordinary beings do not see noble principle, lack corresponding wisdom, and cannot explain it to others; they therefore undergo suffering but have no truth. Śrāvakas possess all three meanings—the nature is not false, they see without inversion, and they can explain it to others—and only then is it called truth. This explanation accords with the scripture.

Second are the non-arising Four Truths. People in this class are lightly deluded about truth, so the names are established from principle. Suffering has no characteristic of oppression, accumulation no characteristic of conjunction, the path no characteristic of duality, and cessation no characteristic of arising. It can also be said that accumulation corresponds with suffering; when accumulation is contemplated as empty, suffering is also empty. The other three truths can be understood by analogy. Going farther, what can produce are accumulation and path. Accumulation and path are empty right where they stand, and because they are empty neither accumulation nor path arises. When accumulation and path do not arise, there is likewise no fruit of suffering or cessation. Truth is revealed immediately within phenomena; it is not another truth that appears only after phenomena have first been extinguished. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that bodhisattvas understand suffering as without suffering and therefore have no fixed characteristic of suffering but possess the true truth. The other three truths are likewise. These are called the non-arising Four Noble Truths.

Third are the immeasurable Four Truths. People in this class are heavily deluded about the Middle Way, so the names are established from phenomena. Suffering has immeasurable characteristics because the fruits of the ten Dharma realms differ. Accumulation has immeasurable characteristics because the five abodes of affliction differ. The path has immeasurable characteristics because Buddha-Dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges differ. Cessation has immeasurable characteristics because the various pāramitās differ. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that merely knowing the aggregates as suffering is called middling wisdom. The ability to distinguish the immeasurable characteristics of the aggregates is not something śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can know, and the Buddha did not explain it for the Two Vehicles in that scripture. The other three truths likewise have immeasurable characteristics. They are therefore called the immeasurable Four Noble Truths.

Fourth are the unconstructed Four Truths. People in this class are lightly deluded about the Middle Way, so the names are established from principle. Through delusion about principle, bodhi turns into affliction and is called the truth of accumulation; nirvāṇa turns into birth-and-death and is called the truth of suffering. Through understanding, affliction itself is bodhi and is called the truth of the path; birth-and-death itself is nirvāṇa and is called the truth of cessation. Phenomena themselves are the Middle Way, without calculation, a constructing mind, or a separate agent who constructs. They are therefore called unconstructed.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the conventional truth itself is the ultimate truth. Only through skillful means in accord with sentient beings does the Buddha teach them as Two Truths. Supramundane people know that the conventional truth itself is ultimate meaning. The one real truth has no falsehood or inversion and possesses permanence, bliss, self, and purity. These are therefore called the unconstructed Four Noble Truths.

When the Śrīmālā Sūtra teaches the unconstructed Four Truths, however, it specially selects the one truth of cessation and says it is that which the Buddha realizes ultimately, is permanent, is truth, and is a refuge. The other three truths—suffering, accumulation, and path—are said to be impermanent, not truth, and not a refuge. The reason is that the three truths lie within conditioned characteristics and are therefore impermanent. What is impermanent is false, so it is not truth. What is impermanent is unstable, so it cannot serve as a refuge. The truth of cessation is apart from the conditioned and therefore permanent. It is not false and is therefore truth. It is most stable and is therefore a refuge. It is therefore also called ultimate truth and inconceivable.

Dharmottara objects to this: the scripture says that the Buddha’s path of bodhi is permanent through three meanings. First, delusion has been exhausted and it is therefore permanent. Second, it does not arise from affliction and is therefore permanent. Third, wisdom and liberation are complete, like all waters returning to the sea, and it is therefore permanent. If so, how can the truth of the path be called impermanent?

The answer says that the Śrīmālā Sūtra speaks this way because the truth of the cessation of suffering described earlier does not mean that an already existing Dharma is destroyed and then called cessation. Rather, Buddha-Dharmas without beginning, unconstructed and more numerous than the sands of the Ganges, are originally accomplished. The scripture says that the Tathāgata’s Dharma-body is inseparable from the store of afflictions. When speaking of the truth of suffering, concealment is called tathāgata-garbha and revelation is called Dharma-body. The emptiness-wisdom of the Two Vehicles neither sees nor knows the four undeluded objects of permanence, bliss, self, and purity. The scripture teaches this meaning by saying that the single truth of cessation is permanent, real, and a refuge. Because the path has the function of counteraction, removing obstructions and making the Dharma-body manifest, the truths of suffering, accumulation, and path are provisionally said not to be permanent or real, while cessation alone is said to be permanent and real.

The treatise then asks in return: according to this answer, only the one truth already revealed counts as an unconstructed truth, while the other three truths not yet revealed are not unconstructed truths. One truth is definitive and three are not. One should know that this passage of the Śrīmālā Sūtra teaches a sequence from shallow to deep and remains differentiated rather than interpenetrating. It is a gate within the immeasurable Four Truths that borrows the name “unconstructed,” not the perfectly interpenetrating unconstructed in which the initial aspiration and ultimate mind do not differ. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra speaks of possessing truth and reality. One should know that each of the four kinds of Four Truths can be called truth, reality, and permanence according to its own meaning.

[Section Nine] Judging, Opening, and Contemplating the Four Truths

Whether in the Great or Small Vehicle, the Four Truths do not go beyond these four kinds. If teaching, practice, and realization do not interpenetrate, they are coarse. If teaching interpenetrates but practice and realization do not, they remain coarse. Only when all three perfectly interpenetrate are they wondrous.

Within the teachings of the five flavors, the milk flavor has two kinds of Four Truths. People of the Two Vehicles have heard neither, and because the Great Vehicle is separated from the Small, one is coarse and one wondrous. The curds flavor has only one kind. The Great Vehicle does not use it, and because the Small Vehicle is separated from the Great, people of the Two Vehicles are like those whose faculties have decayed and who are deaf and mute; it is therefore coarse. Raw ghee has four kinds: the first is broken by the latter three; the second does not enter the latter two; and although the third can enter the fourth, its doctrinal meaning does not yet interpenetrate. There are therefore three coarse and one wondrous. Refined ghee has three kinds: the first is broken by the latter two, the second can enter the third, and the third does not again enter another. Although the second can enter the third, its doctrinal meaning does not yet interpenetrate. There are therefore two coarse and one wondrous. Clarified essence teaches only one kind of Four Truths, solely wondrous and without coarse. This is relational wondrousness disclosed in contrast with the coarse.

Opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous first recounts the intent of the scriptures. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra clarifies only three kinds of Four Truths. It says that form itself is emptiness, not that form must first be destroyed before emptiness exists; this is the meaning of non-arising. It says that all Dharmas tend toward form and that no Dharma passes beyond this tendency; this is the meaning of the immeasurable. It says that even form itself cannot be obtained, how much less tending or not tending; this is the meaning of the unconstructed. Verses in the Treatise on the Middle likewise have these three levels of meaning, while the final two chapters also teach Small Vehicle contemplation and therefore contain the meaning of arising-and-ceasing.

The Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings says that immeasurable Dharmas emerge from one Dharma; it opens the other three kinds of Four Truths from the single unconstructed kind. The Lotus Sutra says that immeasurable Dharmas enter one Dharma; it integrates the first three kinds of Four Truths into the one unconstructed kind. The “Noble Practice” chapter of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra retraces and distinguishes the scriptures and therefore teaches all four kinds. The “King of Virtue” chapter retraces and effaces the differences among the scriptures and therefore says all four are quiescently extinct. The scripture lists: arising-arising is inexpressible; arising-non-arising is inexpressible; non-arising-arising is inexpressible; non-arising-non-arising is inexpressible.

When explaining the first statement, the scripture asks why arising-arising is inexpressible. It answers that through arising-arising there is arising, and through arising-arising there is also non-arising, and it is therefore inexpressible. If one looks only at the words, the scripture uses arising and non-arising to explain arising-arising. This “arising-arising” is therefore already equivalent to “arising-non-arising”; how could it be grasped as only a separate arising-arising? By giving one example to people of sharp faculties, the Buddha enables them to penetrate the other three statements. If the original intent is understood, arising-arising is arising-non-arising and is also non-arising-arising and non-arising-non-arising. One cannot grasp only one statement. The latter three should be understood in the same way.

Someone asks: why does the Buddha explain only the first statement? The answer is that the audience had sharp faculties and that the conditions at the time made this suitable. They were like swift horses that advance upon seeing the shadow of the whip without waiting until the whip strikes to the bone. When the four statements are retraced and effaced in this way, what teaching could fail to return to quiescent extinction?

Many judgments can be made on this basis. The first three kinds insofar as they are expressible can be called coarse, and the last kind insofar as it is expressible wondrous. The first three kinds insofar as they are inexpressible can be called coarse, and the last kind insofar as it is inexpressible wondrous. All four kinds insofar as they are expressible can be called coarse, and all four insofar as they are inexpressible wondrous. Each of the four kinds insofar as it is expressible can possess coarse and wondrous, and each insofar as it is inexpressible can likewise possess coarse and wondrous. Or all four insofar as expressible can be neither coarse nor wondrous, and all four insofar as inexpressible can likewise be neither coarse nor wondrous. All these differences are finally decisively clarified and enter the wondrous, opening provisional skillful means and revealing the real.

All four being inexpressible shows that the stage reached is high. All four being expressible shows the breadth of the Dharma’s substance. All four being both expressible and inexpressible shows that the function is deep and long. All four being neither expressible nor inexpressible transcends high and low, broad and narrow, long and short, one and different; all can be called wondrous. As for contemplation of mind through the Four Truths, it can be understood according to the preceding contemplation of dependent origination, so the original treatise does not record it again.

[Section Ten] Direct Clarification of the Seven Kinds of Two Truths

Fourth are the Two Truths, which likewise have four chapters: first, briefly recounting the views of the various schools; second, directly clarifying the Two Truths; third, judging coarse and wondrous; and fourth, opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous.

The name Two Truths appears in many scriptures, but its meaning is difficult to clarify, so arguments have proliferated through the ages. The Miaosheng Ding Jing even says that, in the past, the Buddha and Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī disputed over the Two Truths and both fell into hell. Only in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha did they ask their shared question. If two sages in the causal stage could not yet understand, how much less should ordinary people rely only on their own affective views, forcibly choose one teaching, and reject another?

Someone asks: when Śākyamuni Bodhisattva met Kāśyapa Buddha, he was a bodhisattva only two more lives from buddhahood. How could he have understood the Two Truths only then? Moreover, before that time he should no longer have fallen into an evil destiny. The answer is that the word “before” spans a very broad time and does not require that the fall into an evil destiny occurred shortly before the final two lives. Further, a two-life bodhisattva is already near the stage of succession. That stage is mostly described according to the Distinct and Perfect teachings, in which falling back is indeed impossible. One who has seen according to the Shared Teaching has already escaped the evil destinies and likewise would not fall. The scripture must therefore refer to a bodhisattva of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, who has still not severed delusions even in the last two lives. If such a bodhisattva understands the Two Truths only then, there is no fault; falling into an evil destiny earlier also accords with the meaning of this teaching.

Another question is asked: if only a Tripiṭaka bodhisattva can fall and bodhisattvas of the other three teachings cannot, why does the Golden Light Sūtra say bodhisattvas on the ten grounds still fear tigers, wolves, lions, and other beasts? The answer is that being killed by an evil friend can, through unwholesome karma, lead to hell; being killed by an evil elephant does not thereby lead to hell. A practitioner of the Perfect Teaching can, in one lifetime and in a body of flesh, leap upward through the ten grounds. Although affliction has been broken and there is no karma for hell, the body of flesh remains, so one can still encounter evil beasts. A fleshly body within the other teachings cannot ascend the ten grounds in one lifetime and can only practice and understand according to those teachings. If tigers and wolves are interpreted as afflictions, the meaning can be made to work in principle, but the evil beasts in the scriptural wording cannot be erased as phenomena.

Attachments have differed through the ages. Sengmin of Zhuangyan Monastery based his interpretation on buddhahood transcending beyond the Two Truths. Masters of the Treatise on the Middle pressed him: if buddha-wisdom lies outside the Two Truths, what principle does it illuminate and what delusion does it break? If there is no other principle to illuminate, one should not say it lies beyond the Two Truths. If it lies beyond the Two Truths but has no separate principle to illuminate, on what basis does it lie beyond? Going forward, a third truth cannot be established; retreating, even the Two Truths cannot be preserved.

Liang-era students of the Satyasiddhi Treatise also held different attachments concerning the conventional truth. Some said its name, function, and substance all exist. Some said only name and function exist, without substance. Some said only the name exists, while both substance and function are absent. Chen-era students of the Treatise on the Middle likewise differed in refutation and establishment. Some refuted the ancient teachings of twenty-three schools on the Two Truths and then separately established their own. Some, after refuting the others, clarified the Two Truths through four kinds of provisionality: provisionality established through causes, through continuity, through relation, and through conditions. Ancient and recent schools all cited a passage from scripture or treatise as their basis, preserving only their own passage and refusing to trust the others.

This treatise holds that the matter should not be understood in this way. Differing statements in the scriptures and treatises are all varied teachings given by the Tathāgata through skillful means, knowing sentient beings’ faculties and desires. In broad terms, they can be divided into three: according to dispositions, according to dispositions and wisdom, and according to wisdom.

First is teaching according to dispositions. Sentient beings’ dispositions differ, so the Buddha teaches different Dharmas according to them. The Vibhāṣā says that the highest worldly Dharma has immeasurable kinds. If even that which approaches the true truth is so, how much more so are other objects? This is like following the sensations of many blind people and telling them separately that milk is white and has other different features. When blind people hear different teachings, they dispute with one another, not knowing that “white” does not equal the whole of milk. The various masters did not understand this intent. Each grasped one passage and raised disputes over views, mutually judging right and wrong, believing one statement and rejecting another. Their discussions spread in disorder because they did not know which statement suited which condition. If the twenty-three schools and those who refuted them each have scriptural evidence, all can be judged Two Truths taught according to dispositions. If a view has no scriptural evidence at all, it is only a false conjecture, the same as a non-Buddhist teaching, and is not included within the Two Truths.

Second is teaching according to dispositions and wisdom. Both truths recognized by sentient beings’ affective views actually belong to the conventional; only when truth is awakened to can it be called true, and the true principle is only one. Five hundred bhikṣus, for example, each explained the cause of the body’s formation. The causes they taught were many, but correct principle was one. A scripture says that what is seen in the minds of worldly people is called the conventional truth, while what is seen in the minds of supramundane people is called the ultimate truth. This is the Two Truths according to dispositions and wisdom.

Third is teaching according to wisdom. When sages awaken to principle, they not only see the true but also understand the conventional. It is like seeing both forms and empty space when a film is removed from the eye. It is also like a meditator emerging from concentration: body and mind become open and spacious, like a light cloud floating in the sky, already different from a distracted mind. How, after awakening to the true, could one instead fail to understand conventional phenomena? A treatise says that small clouds can produce obstruction and great clouds can also produce obstruction; the deeper uncontaminated wisdom becomes, the purer worldly wisdom becomes. A scripture says that ordinary people move through the world without knowing the world’s characteristics, while the Tathāgata moves through the world and clearly understands them. This is the Two Truths according to wisdom. If these three intents are understood and the various scriptures and treatises then studied, one knows that each pair of Two Truths can fully possess the three aspects of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom.

In directly clarifying the Two Truths, the most concise statement need only indicate that Dharma-nature is the true truth and ignorance and the twelve links of dependent origination are the conventional truth; the meaning is then complete. But human minds are coarse and shallow and do not readily discern the profound and wondrous within this. The teaching must therefore be expanded into seven kinds of Two Truths. Each is further opened into dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom, making twenty-one kinds of Two Truths. The first kind of Two Truths alone can burn all false attachments without leaving a blade of grass, like the fire at the end of a kalpa. How much more so when all the subsequent Two Truths are spread out? Their import far exceeds ordinary language and cannot be measured by worldly dispositions.

The seven kinds of Two Truths are, in order: first, real existence is conventional, and the extinction of real existence is true. Second, illusory existence is conventional, and illusory existence as immediately empty is true. Third, illusory existence is conventional, and illusory existence as immediately empty together with nonempty is true. Fourth, illusory existence is conventional, and illusory existence as immediately empty and nonempty, with all Dharmas tending toward empty and nonempty, is true. Fifth, illusory existence and illusory existence as immediately empty are both called conventional, while what is neither existent nor empty is called true. Sixth, illusory existence and illusory existence as immediately empty are both called conventional, while what is neither existent nor empty, with all Dharmas tending toward what is neither existent nor empty, is called true. Seventh, illusory existence and illusory existence as immediately empty are both called conventional, while all Dharmas tending toward existence, emptiness, and neither existence nor emptiness are called true.

The first, the Two Truths of real existence, teaches that the aggregates, sense fields, elements, and so forth are all Dharmas that truly exist. The profusion of the myriad phenomena is formed from these real Dharmas and is therefore called conventional. A practitioner cultivates the path through skillful means and, only after extinguishing this conventional, joins the true. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says “emptying form, form as empty.” Because conventional form must be extinguished, it speaks of emptying form. Because the nature of form is not extinguished, it also says that form itself is empty. There is no medicine within illness, and no bodhi within words; these are meanings of the same level. This is the characteristic of the Two Truths of real existence, and each truth likewise has the three meanings of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom.

The second, the Two Truths of illusory existence and emptiness, refutes the first. If one grasps real existence, then while the conventional exists there is no true, and when the true appears the conventional has already been extinguished. True and conventional cannot stand at once, so the meaning of Two Truths is incomplete. If one understands all as illusory, illusory existence itself is conventional; because illusory existence cannot be obtained, it is immediately true. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says that form itself is emptiness and emptiness itself is form. Only when empty and form are mutually immediate do the Two Truths stand at once. These are the Two Truths of illusory existence and emptiness, and each likewise has the three meanings of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom.

Within the meaning according to wisdom in this kind, a brief distinction must still be made. The illumination of the true according to wisdom in the Two Truths of real existence does not differ from the true illuminated in the Two Truths of illusory existence; their illumination of the conventional according to wisdom does differ. People of the Shared Teaching enter contemplation skillfully and emerge from contemplation to illuminate the conventional with equal skill. It is like a hundred rivers flowing into the ocean and becoming one salty flavor without difference; when traced back from the sea to their sources, each river differs from the others. The conventional consists of phenomenal Dharmas, so what is illuminated naturally differs. The true is the Dharma of principle, so what is realized cannot differ. Even among people of the Shared Teaching who emerge from emptiness and enter the provisional, each person’s skill differs; this can be inferred from principle. Practitioners of the Tripiṭaka Teaching emerging into the provisional can be understood by the same example.

The second, third, and fourth kinds share the same conventional truth of illusory existence, but their true truths differ in three ways. One conventional turns according to three kinds of true, making three kinds of Two Truths. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says “neither contaminated nor uncontaminated.” The first class thinks “not contaminated” removes conventional Dharmas and “not uncontaminated” removes attachment to the uncontaminated. A practitioner again produces attachment in relation to uncontaminated Dharma, like producing a new bond by taking the truth of cessation as object. Attachment must therefore be destroyed so the practitioner reenters the uncontaminated. This forms the first pair of Two Truths.

The second class hears neither contaminated nor uncontaminated and thinks it simultaneously leaves the two extremes and separately discloses the principle of the Middle, taking that principle as true. This forms another pair of Two Truths. The third class hears neither contaminated nor uncontaminated and immediately knows that the double negation directly discloses the Middle Way. The function of the Dharma realm of the Middle Way is as vast as empty space, and all Dharmas tend toward neither contaminated nor uncontaminated. This forms yet another pair of Two Truths.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that śrāvakas see only emptiness and do not see nonemptiness, while the wise see both emptiness and nonemptiness. This is precisely the threefold difference. If people of the Two Vehicles are attached to emptiness, the scripture uses nonemptiness to break that attachment. After the attachment to emptiness is broken, they still only see emptiness and have not truly seen nonemptiness. Those with sharper faculties know nonemptiness is not only the removal of attachment but wondrous existence, and they therefore speak of nonemptiness. Those of sharpest faculties hear “nonempty” and know it to be the tathāgata-garbha, toward which all Dharmas tend. Thus emptiness and nonemptiness alone can also form three kinds of Two Truths.

Three kinds can further be distinguished through “all Dharmas tend toward neither contaminated nor uncontaminated.” The first class hears this and thinks all Dharmas do not depart from emptiness, like a jar traveling throughout the ten directions while the space within the jar remains only that space. The second class hears it and knows this principle of the Middle must be approached through all practices before it can be revealed. The third class hears it and knows that all Dharmas immediately and wholly tend toward neither contaminated nor uncontaminated, where all Dharmas are originally complete.

The same conventional truth can therefore turn according to three true truths: one empty true, the compound true of emptiness and nonemptiness, or the inconceivable true. The forms are immeasurable and move in and out according to faculties to benefit sentient beings. Each also has the three meanings of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom. When speaking according to the realization of wisdom, the conventional truth likewise turns according to wisdom. Realizing the partial true makes the Two Truths of the Shared Teaching. Realizing the nonempty true makes the Two Truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared. Realizing that all Dharmas tend toward the nonempty true makes the Two Truths of the Perfect receiving the Shared. The wisdom attained by these three kinds of people differs, and when they emerge from contemplation and again illuminate the conventional, each differs as well.

Why do three kinds of people hear the same Two Truths yet understand them at different depths? Because this is the prajñā not shared with the Two Vehicles taught together with them, so listeners naturally take it differently. The Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says there are bodhisattvas who, on first arousing the aspiration, immediately correspond with omniscience; bodhisattvas who, on first arousing the aspiration, sport in supernormal powers and can purify buddha-lands; and bodhisattvas who, on first arousing the aspiration, immediately sit at the place of awakening and resemble the Buddha. This precisely shows differences of depth in understanding the same teaching.

The fifth kind takes illusory existence and illusory existence as immediately empty together as conventional, and neither existence nor nonexistence as true. Existence and nonexistence are two and therefore remain conventional. The Middle Way is neither existence nor nonexistence and transcends the two characteristics, so it is true. When people of the Two Vehicles hear this pair of true and conventional, they understand neither, as if deaf and mute. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the Buddha discussed the conventional truth with Maitreya, yet five hundred śrāvakas mistook this discussion of the conventional truth for the true truth. This is the meaning. This pair likewise has the three aspects of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom.

In the sixth kind, the Two Truths of the Perfect receiving the Distinct, the conventional truth is the same as in the Distinct Teaching, but the true truth differs. People of the Distinct Teaching think nonemptiness is only one principle. To reveal this principle, various skillful means must be cultivated in sequence, so it is said that all Dharmas tend toward nonemptiness. When people of the Perfect Teaching hear the principle of nonemptiness, they know immediately that it fully possesses all Buddha-Dharmas without any deficiency. It is therefore said that all Dharmas wholly tend into nonemptiness. This pair likewise has the three aspects of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom.

The seventh kind, the Two Truths of the Perfect Teaching, directly teaches inconceivable Two Truths: the true itself is the conventional, and the conventional itself is the true. It is like a wish-fulfilling jewel. The body of the jewel represents the true and its function represents the conventional. The jewel itself is function, and function itself is the jewel. Only because the nondual is provisionally divided in two are true and conventional established. This pair likewise has the three aspects of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom. Śāriputra says the Buddha teaches skillfully through various causes, conditions, and similes; the Buddha’s mind is settled like the sea, and after hearing him Śāriputra’s net of doubt is severed. This is precisely the meaning.

Someone asks: true and conventional should stand in mutual relation; why do the seven teachings differ? The answer can be arranged through four alternatives: different conventional but same true; different true but same conventional; both true and conventional different yet mutually related; and both true and conventional the same yet mutually related. The true in the Tripiṭaka and Shared teachings is the same while their conventional differs. The true in the Distinct receiving the Shared and Perfect receiving the Shared differs while their conventional is the same. In the Distinct Teaching, true and conventional both differ and stand in mutual relation. In the Perfect receiving the Distinct, the conventional is the same as the Distinct Teaching while the true differs. In the Perfect Teaching, true and conventional are originally not different yet remain provisionally related: precisely different and yet the same. If two teachings do not receive one another, true and conventional still stand in mutual relation within the separate bounds of each teaching.

The above is the extensive teaching of the seven kinds of Two Truths. In brief, they can be gathered into four: within the three realms, immediately identical and not immediately identical; and beyond the three realms, immediately identical and not immediately identical. Adding the Distinct receiving the Shared makes a fifth, the Perfect receiving the Shared a sixth, and the Perfect receiving the Distinct a seventh.

Someone asks: why not speak of the Distinct and Perfect receiving the Tripiṭaka? The answer is that the Tripiṭaka belongs to Dharma within the three realms that is not immediately identical. After Small Vehicle practitioners take realization, they are like those whose faculties have decayed and cannot advance, so being received is not discussed. The remaining six kinds are all Great Vehicle gates. If practitioners wish to advance, they can still enter upward, so being received can be discussed.

Another question is asked: if one is not received, can one also not be integrated into the Lotus? The answer is that being received and being integrated do not have the same meaning. Before the time of integration, the only question is whether a faculty can be received by a deeper teaching. The absence of such receiving cannot be used to conclude that final integration is impossible.

[Section Eleven] Judging and Opening the Two Truths

Third is judging coarse and wondrous. The Two Truths of real existence belong to the half-word gate and guide people of dull faculties in clearing away the filth of conceptual proliferation. But because they cannot let true and conventional stand simultaneously, they are judged coarse. The Two Truths of illusory existence and emptiness belong to the full-word gate and teach the true mark of all dharmas for people of sharp faculties. People of all three vehicles can realize them, so they are more wondrous than the first kind; but because all three see only emptiness, they remain coarse beside the latter kinds.

The Distinct receiving the Shared can see nonemptiness and is therefore more wondrous than emptiness alone, but because the principle discussed in the teaching does not yet interpenetrate, it remains coarse. The principle seen in the Perfect receiving the Shared is already wondrous and does not differ from the later Perfect principle, but because it still carries the skillful means of the Shared Teaching, it is judged coarse. The Two Truths of the Distinct Teaching no longer carry the skillful means of the Shared Teaching and are therefore more wondrous than the preceding, but their principle still does not interpenetrate and is again coarse. The principle seen in the Perfect receiving the Distinct already perfectly interpenetrates and is therefore wondrous, but because it still carries the skillful means of the Distinct Teaching, it is coarse. Only the Two Truths of the Perfect Teaching directly teach the unsurpassed path and are therefore ultimately wondrous.

They are next judged according to dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom. Take the Tripiṭaka Teaching first. A practitioner initially hears Two Truths taught according to dispositions and mistakes the Tathāgata’s true speech, spoken in accord with the conventional, for false speech. The practitioner further grasps language and produces views; birth-and-death therefore spreads vast, without even the savor of Buddha-Dharma. If the practitioner diligently cultivates the four establishments of mindfulness and arouses the four wholesome roots of warmth, summit, patience, and the highest worldly Dharma, the Two Truths earlier heard according to dispositions are both called conventional. When uncontaminated wisdom arises, the Two Truths it illuminates are both called true. After realizing the four fruits, true and conventional illuminated through uncontaminated wisdom are both called the Two Truths according to wisdom.

According to dispositions is coarse and according to wisdom is wondrous, like milk turning into curds. Once it has become curds, mind and Dharma trust and accord with one another, and moving in and out is no longer difficult. The Buddha can then teach the Shared, the Distinct receiving the Shared, and the Perfect receiving the Shared according to dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom. This makes practitioners feel ashamed of the Small and aspire to the Great, grieve for themselves as decayed seeds, and thirst after the higher vehicle. It is like turning curds into raw ghee.

As the mind gradually becomes open and at ease, the Buddha again teaches the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct according to dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom. He reveals prajñā not shared with the Two Vehicles and orders practitioners to receive and manage the family estate, making them know every coming and going of gold, silver, and treasures. Once they understand these, it is like raw ghee turning into refined ghee. After a long time, the buddhas finally teach the true treasure: they teach the Perfect Two Truths according to dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom, like refined ghee turning into clarified essence. The first six kinds of Two Truths mature sentient beings. Although they become the four flavors of milk, curds, raw ghee, and refined ghee, they are still judged coarse; only the final flavor, clarified essence, is wondrous.

If the seven are gathered into three classes of judgment, the first two teachings, although each possesses the three aspects including wisdom, are as a whole teachings following sentient beings’ affective views and expressing what is in others’ minds. They are therefore coarse. Beginning with the Distinct receiving the Shared, although each likewise possesses the three aspects, all are as a whole mixed teachings of dispositions and wisdom, expressing the intents of both the Buddha and others, and are therefore both coarse and wondrous. Although the Perfect Two Truths likewise possess all three aspects, as a whole they are entirely taught according to buddha-wisdom and express the Buddha’s own intent. They are therefore called wondrous.

Someone asks: if the first two kinds of Two Truths are judged as a whole to be according to dispositions, practitioners should neither see truth nor attain the path. The answer is that they are called according to dispositions as a whole only because the Middle Way has not yet been attained. The buddhas and tathāgatas never teach empty and useless Dharmas. Although these teachings are not the siddhānta of the Middle Way as ultimate meaning, they do not lack the benefits of the worldly, individually adapted, and counteractive siddhāntas. They are judged coarse and according to dispositions only in general terms; this does not mean that cultivating through them produces no attainment at all.

The seven kinds of Two Truths are next placed within the teachings of the five flavors. The milk flavor has three kinds—the Distinct, the Perfect receiving the Distinct, and the Perfect—two coarse and one wondrous. The curds flavor has only the Two Truths of real existence, all coarse. Raw ghee has all seven, six coarse and one wondrous. Refined ghee has six kinds, five coarse and one wondrous. The Lotus Sutra teaches only the one Perfect kind and none of the other six skillful means, solely wondrous and without coarse. The character “wondrous” is established in the scripture’s title precisely for this reason. This is the relational judgment of coarse and wondrous.

Fourth is opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous. The original intent for the tathāgatas of the three times to appear in the world is to cause sentient beings to open the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing and attain patience with non-arising. This is precisely the Buddha’s appearance in the world through the one great matter as cause and condition. The Treatise on the Lotus Sutra explains the lotus emerging from water by saying that it emerges inexhaustibly from the muddy waters of the Small Vehicle, enabling entry to sit within the Tathāgata’s great assembly. It is like the bodhisattvas sitting upon lotuses and hearing the pure sphere of unsurpassed wisdom.

This certainly does not mean sitting upon a lotus leaf. It means that the bodhisattvas hear one perfect path, realize one perfect fruit, abide in the Lotus-King realm, and sit together with Vairocana Buddha upon the lotus dais.

The Buddha’s intent was originally such. Those who saw the Buddha’s body at first, heard the teaching of the one real at first, and awakened and entered had already ascended the lotus dais. For those who had not yet awakened and entered, the Buddha opened the gradual from the sudden and used various skillful means to assist in disclosing ultimate meaning. The Two Truths taught were sometimes single, sometimes compound, and sometimes inconceivable; their various forms were all skillful means leading people to ascend the lotus dais. The Tathāgata originally constantly abides in quiescence while transformation pervades the Dharma realm. He does not first calculate and plan in the mind and only then act. The power of compassionate wholesome roots that draws in sentient beings simply enables them to enter through various skillful means.

Some say that all teachings beginning at the Deer Park were advance guidance for the Lotus Sutra. This treatise considers even that statement incorrect because its span of time is too short. Speaking only from the near, everything since the place of quiescent extinction served as guidance for the Lotus. The Buddha’s emission of light illuminating other lands and buddhas also served to open the gradual from the sudden. Mañjuśrī’s account of past buddhas likewise served the same matter. Yet this is still too near.

Since Mahābhijñā-jñānābhibhū Buddha, the Buddha has been making skillful means for the Lotus on behalf of sentient beings; it did not begin only at the place of quiescent extinction. Even this is too near. Since attaining buddhahood in the distant past, the Buddha has continuously made skillful means for sentient beings to ascend the lotus dais; this can still be called too near. Since the time when the Buddha practiced the bodhisattva path in the distant past, he has already made skillful means of the lotus dais for sentient beings. The scripture says that the Buddha originally made a vow to cause all sentient beings likewise to attain this path. How could guidance have begun only in the present lifetime?

Those transformed since the distant past who have already ascended the lotus dais form one class. For those who had not yet entered, the Buddha continuously guided them through the preceding skillful means, life after life in the intervening time. Some ascended the lotus dais through the Distinct receiving the Shared, the Perfect receiving the Shared, and the Perfect receiving the Distinct in the Avataṃsaka, Vaipulya, Prajñāpāramitā, and other teachings; they do not differ from those who entered at first and form another class. Those still not entered passed through maturation in the four flavors and all ascended the lotus dais in the Lotus Sutra. Those remaining at three flavors, two flavors, one flavor, or not matured at all are likewise decisively opened and revealed in this scripture, making the originally coarse Dharma wondrous; all ascend the lotus dais.

Practitioners of the Tripiṭaka Teaching most firmly guard the fruit they have realized; this is hardest to break and hardest to open. Now even it has been broken and opened, how much more so the other skillful means that are easier to break and open? People of all kinds still follow their own dispositions, yet the real is disclosed within their original Dharma-gates and they directly ascend the lotus dais. The scripture says that the father gave each child one of his innumerable seven-jeweled great carts. This is opening the provisional to reveal the real, making all coarse Dharmas into absolute wondrousness.

According to what has been taught above, the Lotus Sutra gathers all scriptures. The Buddha’s original intent in appearing in the world and the destination of every teaching reach their utmost here. Some fail to see this principle and treat the twelve links of dependent origination and the other objects only as ordinary phenomena, despising them without end; their tongues will rot within their mouths. If the purport of this chapter is attained, one can deeply see seven, twenty-one, and even immeasurable teaching gates. Their meanings are vast and profound and enter one another in intricate patterns like the subtle depths and shades of embroidery. Horizontally they pervade all; vertically they exhaust the whole; finally they all integrate into the Lotus. The teachings of twenty thousand Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance Buddhas, Kāśyapa Buddha, and other ancient buddhas reach the utmost of the wondrous here. Maitreya’s future teaching will likewise reach the utmost of the wondrous here. Śākyamuni Buddha looks upward and accords with buddhas of past, present, and future, and likewise reaches the utmost of the wondrous here. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is like using a weighty treasure to redeem one’s life; it only solemnly repeats this essential purport. Seeing the vast magnificence and all-embracing quality of this wondrous purport, a student should open the measure of the mind and not confine empty space through their own narrow affective views.

The Mahāyānasaṃgraha teaches ten superior characteristics. People of the world all regard its meaning as extremely profound, and it even caused students of the Treatise on the Ten Grounds to change their doctrine. Compared with the ten subtleties, however, it can still be seen to leave something out. Take only the subtlety of principle in comparison with the superior characteristic of the foundation. This treatise uses inconceivable dependent origination to break attachments through the four alternatives of arising from self, from another, from both, or without cause. How could it then fix ālaya-consciousness or amala-consciousness as a foundation? This treatise further uses the four siddhāntas to establish teachings according to conditions; it does not establish only one doctrine of ignorance arising from another.

The Mahāyānasaṃgraha explains meaning along only one road. It does not see how the sudden and gradual teachings of the scriptures open and combine to benefit sentient beings, nor does it, through teaching, contemplative practice, dispositions, and wisdom, broadly encompass the Buddha’s entire career of transformation and deeply gather its beginning and end. The single object of dependent origination is already broader than the superior characteristic of the foundation. When the four kinds of Four Truths, seven kinds of Two Truths, five kinds of Three Truths, the One Truth, and so forth are compared with it, no equal scale can be found. Even the ten subtleties within the Trace are not fully possessed by it; the ten subtleties in the Origin are absent from the other scriptures. How much more so from a single treatise?

The ten subtleties in contemplation of mind can still more immediately be put into practice and function, unlike a poor person who only counts the treasures on another’s head. The Dharma-gates of the ten subtleties overlap like fish scales and accumulate layer upon layer. How could they be exhausted in words? Even India’s Dazhidu Lun cannot be classed with them, much less the Chinese masters. This is not an intentional exaggeration of the characteristics of Dharma; the Dharma-gates themselves are truly such. Students can see this by reflecting for themselves; no more words need be wasted.

[Section Twelve] The Five Kinds of Three Truths

Fifth are the Three Truths. All scriptures possess the meaning of the Three Truths, while the name Three Truths appears explicitly in the Pusa Yingluo Benye Jing. The Renwang Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra calls them the truth of existence, the truth of nonexistence, and the ultimate truth of the Middle Way. The Lotus Sutra likewise contains this meaning. “The Lifespan of the Tathāgata” chapter says “neither thus nor different.” Neither thus nor different discloses the Middle Way; “thus” can correspond to the true, and “different” to the conventional.

Someone asks: the Lotus Sutra does not contain such names as the four kinds of dependent origination. How can these meanings be used? The answer is that the names five abodes and two deaths come from the Śrīmālā Sūtra; does this mean the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra should not use their meanings? Without the five abodes, there would be no way to speak of breaking ignorance. Without the two deaths, there would be no way to disclose permanence. The names of the three buddhas come from the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra; this likewise cannot be used to say other scriptures lack the meaning of the three buddhas. All scriptures are taught by the Buddha. Although their names differ, meaning cannot be obstructed by names.

The Three Truths have three chapters: first, directly clarifying the Three Truths; second, judging coarse and wondrous; and third, opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous. The first two of the preceding seven kinds of Two Truths do not clearly teach the Middle Way and are therefore first removed and not considered. Each of the latter five kinds of Two Truths can open the Middle Way, making five kinds of Three Truths.

First are the Three Truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared. The Three Truths are indicated right within the phrase neither contaminated nor uncontaminated: contaminated is conventional; uncontaminated is true; and neither contaminated nor uncontaminated is Middle. But the Middle taught by this teaching only means different from emptiness. It has no autonomous function and does not possess all Dharmas.

Second are the Three Truths of the Perfect receiving the Shared. The true and conventional truths are the same as in the preceding kind. The Middle disclosed through neither contaminated nor uncontaminated, however, fully possesses all Dharmas and therefore differs from the Middle Truth in the preceding kind.

Third are the Three Truths of the Distinct Teaching. The original conventional truth is opened into the two truths of existence and emptiness, while the original true truth becomes the Middle Truth. This Middle is only one principle; it has not yet been clarified as fully possessing all right where it stands.

Fourth are the Three Truths of the Perfect receiving the Distinct. The first two truths are the same as in the Distinct Teaching, but it is made explicit that the Middle Way disclosed through the true truth fully possesses all Buddha-Dharmas.

Fifth are the Three Truths of the Perfect Teaching. Not only does the Middle Way fully possess all Buddha-Dharmas; the true and conventional truths each fully possess all as well. The Three Truths perfectly interpenetrate: one is three and three are one. Their meaning is explained extensively in the Mohe Zhiguan.

Next they are judged as coarse or wondrous. The Distinct receiving the Shared and the Perfect receiving the Shared both carry the skillful means of the Shared Teaching and are therefore coarse. The Distinct Teaching does not carry the skillful means of the Shared and is more wondrous than the first two. The Perfect receiving the Distinct still carries the skillful means of the Distinct Teaching and is therefore coarse. The Perfect Teaching carries no skillful means at all and is therefore most wondrous.

Within the teachings of the five flavors, the milk flavor has three kinds of Three Truths, two coarse and one wondrous. The curds flavor has only coarse and no wondrous. Raw ghee and refined ghee both possess all five kinds of Three Truths, each with four coarse and one wondrous. The Lotus Sutra has only the one kind belonging to the Perfect Teaching. This is relational wondrousness. As for opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous, all the preceding coarse Dharmas are decisively clarified and integrated into one wondrous. There is no separate Dharma left to stand in relation to the Three Truths; this is absolute wondrousness.

[Section Thirteen] The One Truth and No Truth

Sixth is the One Truth. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the so-called Two Truths are actually only One Truth and are taught as two only through skillful means. It is like a drunk person who has not sobered seeing the sun and moon revolve and supposing there are both a revolving sun and moon and a nonrevolving sun and moon. A sober person sees only that the sun and moon do not revolve and does not separately see something that revolves. Dividing revolving and nonrevolving into two is coarse; seeing only the one nonrevolving is wondrous.

The Tripiṭaka Teaching lies entirely within the two that revolve, like what is seen by the drunk person. Other Great Vehicle scriptures simultaneously carry the skillful means of the two that revolve and teach the one that does not revolve. The Lotus Sutra straightforwardly casts aside skillful means and teaches only the unsurpassed path, disclosing the one real that does not revolve; it is therefore wondrous.

The Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra uses the characteristics of the ground to clarify resembling Dharmas and the reality of the ground to clarify real Dharmas. One can also call the skillful means of the teaching gate the path of teaching that clarifies meaning, and the Dharma actually realized the path of realization that clarifies meaning. Borrowing these names now: the buddhas, after a long time, must finally teach the real; this belongs to the reality of the ground clarifying meaning. The Dharma the Buddha attained at the place of awakening belongs to the path of realization clarifying meaning. It is therefore called wondrous.

But if one again grasps this real, turning true speech into a new false utterance and producing a fixed view through language, it becomes coarse. Only allowing the one real to interpenetrate freely without attachment is called wondrous. The meaning of opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous can be understood by the same principle.

Next, all truths are said to be inexpressible. All Dharmas from the beginning constantly bear the characteristics of quiescent extinction. How could many truths clamor in confusion and obstruct one another? Even the One Truth cannot be grasped, much less the many truths. Each truth is inexpressible. The expressible is judged coarse, the inexpressible wondrous. If even “inexpressible” is not grasped, this is wondrous; and this wondrous cannot itself be grasped as wondrous, because the path of language has been cut off.

Speaking generally of the various kinds of inexpressibility, arising-arising is inexpressible, all the way through non-arising-non-arising being inexpressible. The first three kinds of inexpressibility remain coarse in comparison with the last, while non-arising-non-arising as inexpressible is wondrous. If coarse and wondrous were permanently different, their relational contrast could not interpenetrate. If coarse and wondrous are nondual, there is absolute wondrousness.

Within the teachings of the five flavors, the milk flavor has one coarse no-truth and one wondrous no-truth. The curds flavor has only one coarse no-truth. Raw ghee has three coarse no-truths and one wondrous no-truth. Refined ghee has two coarse no-truths and one wondrous no-truth. The Lotus Sutra teaches only one wondrous no-truth. How the coarse is opened is the same as explained earlier.

Someone asks: why can no truth be discussed in both Great and Small Vehicles? The answer is that the Dazhidu Lun does not destroy the nirvāṇa genuinely realized in the minds of sages. Rather, people who have not realized grasp nirvāṇa and thereby produce conceptual proliferation, like producing a fetter by taking non-arising as object. Their attachment must therefore be destroyed, and this is called no truth.

Another question is asked: if so, both those who have attained in the Small Vehicle and those who have not should be broken; both those who have attained in the Great Vehicle and those who have not should likewise all be broken. The answer is that the two cannot be treated as entirely analogous. In the Small Vehicle sphere there remains another portion of delusion to remove and another portion of principle to reveal, so even what has been attained must still be opened and broken. The Middle Way is not like this. Once it is genuinely realized, what remains to be broken?

The next question is: if so, the Middle Way should have only the one real truth and no truth should not be taught. The answer is that those who have not yet realized may grasp the Middle Way and produce a further delusion, so no truth must still be used to break attachment. For those who have genuinely realized, the one real exists. For those who use it to produce conceptual proliferation, it is said not to exist.

Here the second part of Fascicle Two of the Xuanyi ends. The first part of Fascicle Three begins below and is still titled as spoken by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai.

[Section Fourteen] First Half of Opening and Combining the Objects

The second major chapter teaches the opening and combining of the objects, beginning with the ten suchnesses. The reason is that the Lotus Sutra opens its chapter by praising the ten suchnesses in a way that transcends language. The text now also teaches the five objects of dependent origination, the Four Truths, the Two Truths, the Three Truths, and the One Truth. Are these five objects the same as or different from the ten suchnesses? Their names differ, so this is called opening; their meanings are the same, so this is called combining.

First the twelve links of dependent origination are combined, link by link, with the ten suchnesses. The link of ignorance combines with suchness of nature. Volitional activities combine with suchness of characteristic. The five links from consciousness through feeling combine with suchness of substance. Craving combines with suchness of condition. Grasping combines with suchness of power and suchness of activity. Existence combines with suchness of cause. Birth and aging-and-death combine with suchness of fruit and suchness of recompense.

An overall correlation can also be made. Suchness of characteristic combines with the two links of volitional activities and existence. Suchness of nature combines with the three links of ignorance, craving, and grasping. Suchness of substance combines with the seven links of consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, feeling, birth, and aging-and-death. Suchness of power is again apportioned to the three links of the affliction-track—ignorance, craving, and grasping—because they have the power to produce karma. Suchness of activity is again apportioned to volitional activities and existence because they can make karma that calls forth suffering. Suchness of cause is again apportioned to volitional activities and existence because they are causes of the seven fruits of suffering. Suchness of condition is again apportioned to ignorance, craving, and grasping because they can moisten karma and seize suffering. Suchness of fruit is apportioned to the habitual fruits produced by volitional activities and existence. Suchness of retribution is apportioned to the recompenses of name-and-form and so forth called forth by the karma of volitional activities and existence. The link-by-link and overall correlations above both use conceivable twelvefold dependent origination to correspond to the ten suchnesses of the six paths.

Next inconceivable twelvefold dependent origination is used to correspond to the ten suchnesses of the four noble Dharma realms. The link of ignorance turns into illumination. Illumination is the understanding-cause and becomes suchness of nature in the noble. The link of unwholesome activity turns into wholesome activity. Wholesome activity is the condition-cause and becomes suchness of characteristic in the noble. The suffering-track of consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense fields, contact, feeling, and so forth turns into the Dharma-body and becomes suchness of substance in the noble. The two links of craving and grasping turn into the mind of bodhi and become suchness of power in the noble.

The link of existence contains future fruit. It turns into the practice of the six pāramitās and thereby becomes suchness of activity in the noble, and it also becomes suchness of cause in the noble. The transformation of existence further has two aspects, correct and assisting: the correct path turns into suchness of cause, while the assisting path turns into suchness of condition. The link of aging-and-death turns into the constant abiding of Dharma-nature and becomes suchness of fruit and suchness of recompense in the noble.

In a further overall statement, the three Dharmas of substance, power, and activity are originally only affliction, karma, and suffering. After transformation, they become the three Dharmas of Dharma-body, the mind of bodhi, and the practice of the six pāramitās. Diligently cultivating these three Dharmas inwardly perfumes suchness of nature and outwardly manifests suchness of characteristic. Correct intent becomes suchness of substance; a profound vow becomes suchness of power; establishing practice becomes suchness of activity; drawing forth the virtue of fruit becomes suchness of cause; assisting correct practice becomes suchness of condition; and actual arousal and attainment become suchness of fruit and suchness of recompense. If the four noble Dharma realms were finely distinguished, every segment would still differ. Only the broad outline is taken here, so a common explanation is made. The scripture says that the aspiration for omniscience still remains and is not lost. On this basis, a common correlation can also be made for the Two Vehicles.

Next the four kinds of Four Truths are combined with the ten suchnesses. Suffering and accumulation within the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising Four Truths are the ten suchnesses of the six paths: suchness of characteristic and nature correspond to accumulation; suchness of substance corresponds to suffering; suchness of activity, power, cause, and condition also correspond to accumulation; and suchness of fruit and recompense again correspond to suffering.

The path and cessation within the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising Four Truths are the ten suchnesses of analytical-Dharma practitioners of the Two Vehicles, embodied-Dharma practitioners of the Two Vehicles, and bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching. Suchness of characteristic and nature correspond to the path; suchness of substance corresponds to cessation; suchness of power, activity, cause, and condition all correspond to the path; and suchness of fruit and recompense again correspond to cessation.

Suffering and accumulation within the immeasurable and unconstructed Four Truths are the ten suchnesses of the recompenses beyond the realms in the four noble Dharma realms. The truth of accumulation corresponds to suchness of characteristic, nature, power, activity, cause, and condition beyond the realms. The truth of suffering corresponds to suchness of substance, fruit, and retribution beyond the realms.

The path and cessation within the immeasurable and unconstructed Four Truths are the ten suchnesses of nirvāṇa beyond the realms in the four noble Dharma realms. The truth of the path corresponds to suchness of nature, characteristic, power, activity, cause, and condition in nirvāṇa—that is, prajñā and liberation. The truth of cessation corresponds to suchness of substance, fruit, and retribution in nirvāṇa, and also becomes the constantly abiding Dharma-body.

[Section Fifteen] Second Half of Opening and Combining the Objects

Next the four kinds of Four Truths are correlated with the four kinds of twelvefold dependent origination. Suffering and accumulation within the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising Four Truths are the circulation of the two conceivable kinds of twelvefold dependent origination. The path and cessation within the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising Four Truths are the two conceivable kinds of twelvefold dependent origination from the cessation of ignorance through the cessation of aging-and-death. Suffering and accumulation within the immeasurable and unconstructed Four Truths are the circulation of the two inconceivable kinds of twelvefold dependent origination. The path and cessation within the immeasurable and unconstructed Four Truths are the two inconceivable kinds of twelvefold dependent origination from the cessation of ignorance through the cessation of aging-and-death.

When the seven kinds of Two Truths are combined with the ten suchnesses, the four conventional truths of the Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct receiving the Shared, and Perfect receiving the Shared all correspond to the ten suchnesses of the six paths. The two true truths of the Tripiṭaka and Shared correspond to the ten suchnesses of the Two Vehicles. Within the two conventional truths of the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct, the side of existence corresponds to the ten suchnesses of the six paths, while the side of emptiness corresponds to the ten suchnesses of the Two Vehicles. The conventional truth of the Perfect Teaching generally corresponds to the ten suchnesses of the nine Dharma realms. The five true truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared, the Perfect receiving the Shared, the Distinct, the Perfect receiving the Distinct, and the Perfect all correspond to the ten suchnesses of the buddha Dharma realm.

When the seven kinds of Two Truths are combined with the four kinds of twelvefold dependent origination, the four conventional truths of the Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct receiving the Shared, and Perfect receiving the Shared are the circulation of the two conceivable kinds of twelvefold dependent origination. The two true truths of the Tripiṭaka and Shared are conceivable twelvefold dependent origination from the cessation of ignorance through the cessation of aging-and-death. Within the two conventional truths of the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct, the side of existence is the circulation of conceivable twelvefold dependent origination, while the side of emptiness is conceivable twelvefold dependent origination from the cessation of ignorance through the cessation of aging-and-death. The conventional truth of the Perfect Teaching simultaneously penetrates the four kinds of twelvefold dependent origination within and beyond the realms. The five true truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared, the Perfect receiving the Shared, the Distinct, the Perfect receiving the Distinct, and the Perfect are the inconceivable dependent origination beyond the realms from the cessation of ignorance through the cessation of aging-and-death.

When the seven kinds of Two Truths are combined with the four kinds of Four Truths, the Two Truths of real existence are the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths. The Two Truths of illusory existence and emptiness are the non-arising Four Truths. The two conventional truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared and Perfect receiving the Shared remain the suffering and accumulation of the non-arising Four Truths. The true truth of the Distinct receiving the Shared is the path and cessation of the immeasurable Four Truths. The true truth of the Perfect receiving the Shared is the path and cessation of the unconstructed Four Truths. The conventional truths of the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct are the suffering and accumulation of the immeasurable Four Truths. The conventional truth of the Perfect is the suffering and accumulation of the unconstructed Four Truths. The true truth of the Distinct is the path and cessation of the immeasurable Four Truths. The true truths of the Perfect receiving the Distinct and the Perfect are the path and cessation of the unconstructed Four Truths.

When the five kinds of Three Truths are combined with the ten suchnesses, the two conventional truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared and the Perfect receiving the Shared are the ten suchnesses of the six paths. Within the two conventional truths of the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct, the side of existence is the ten suchnesses of the six paths and the side of emptiness is the ten suchnesses of the Two Vehicles. The meaning of the conventional truth of the Perfect Teaching penetrates the ten suchnesses of the nine Dharma realms. All five true truths are the ten suchnesses of the Two Vehicles, bodhisattvas, and others. All five Middle Truths are the ten suchnesses of the buddha Dharma realm.

When the five kinds of Three Truths are combined with the four kinds of twelvefold dependent origination, the two conventional truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared and the Perfect receiving the Shared are conceivable twelvefold dependent origination in the six paths. Within the two conventional truths of the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct, the side of existence is the arising of conceivable twelvefold dependent origination in the six paths and the side of emptiness is the cessation of conceivable twelvefold dependent origination. The meaning of the conventional truth of the Perfect Teaching penetrates the four kinds of twelvefold dependent origination. If the fourfold distinction is provisionally used, the five true truths are all the cessation of conceivable twelvefold dependent origination and are also the arising of inconceivable twelvefold dependent origination. The five Middle Truths are all the cessation of inconceivable twelvefold dependent origination.

When the five kinds of Three Truths are combined with the four kinds of Four Truths, the two conventional truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared and Perfect receiving the Shared are the suffering and accumulation of the non-arising Four Truths. The conventional truths of the Distinct, Perfect receiving the Distinct, and Perfect can all be the suffering and accumulation of the non-arising Four Truths, can also be the path and cessation of the non-arising Four Truths, and can further be the suffering and accumulation of the immeasurable Four Truths.

The two true truths of the Distinct receiving the Shared and the Perfect receiving the Shared originally take only the side of emptiness and are therefore the path and cessation of the non-arising Four Truths. The true truths of the Distinct and the Perfect receiving the Distinct are the path and cessation within the non-arising Four Truths but become suffering and accumulation within the immeasurable Four Truths. The true truth of the Perfect is the path and cessation within the non-arising Four Truths but becomes suffering and accumulation within the immeasurable and unconstructed Four Truths.

The Middle Truth of the Distinct receiving the Shared is the path and cessation of the immeasurable Four Truths. The Middle Truth of the Perfect receiving the Shared is the path and cessation of the unconstructed Four Truths. The Middle Truth of the Distinct Teaching is the path and cessation of the immeasurable Four Truths. The Middle Truth of the Perfect receiving the Distinct is the path and cessation of the unconstructed Four Truths. The Middle Truth of the Perfect Teaching is precisely the path and cessation of the unconstructed Four Truths.

When the five kinds of Three Truths are combined with the seven kinds of Two Truths, the first two kinds—the Two Truths of real existence and of illusory existence and emptiness—are first removed and not included in the correlation. The two conventional truths of the next two kinds of Two Truths are the five conventional truths within the five kinds of Three Truths. Within their two true truths, the side of emptiness is the true truth within the five kinds of Three Truths, while the side of nonemptiness is the Middle Truth within the five kinds of Three Truths. Within the three conventional truths of the last three kinds of Two Truths, the side of emptiness is the true truth within the five kinds of Three Truths, while the side of existence is the conventional truth within the five kinds of Three Truths. Their three true truths are the Middle Truth within the five kinds of Three Truths.

It can also be put another way. The first two kinds of Two Truths are again removed and not correlated. Each conventional truth in the latter five kinds of Two Truths contains the true and conventional within the Three Truths. Each true truth in the latter five kinds of Two Truths contains the true and Middle within the Three Truths.

When the one real truth is combined with the ten suchnesses, each Dharma realm contains all ten realms. The other nine are now removed, and only what agrees with the ten suchnesses of the buddha Dharma realm is taken. When combined with the twelve links of dependent origination, the first three kinds are removed and it agrees only with the cessation of inconceivable non-arising and non-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination. When combined with the Four Truths, the first three kinds are removed and it agrees only with the one real unconstructed Four Truths. When combined with the seven kinds of Two Truths, it is both the same as and different from only the latter five true truths. When combined with the five kinds of Three Truths, it agrees only with the five Middle Truths.

No truth as inexpressible combines with the ten suchnesses because “such” indicates no difference and immediate quiescent emptiness. The extinction of verbal characteristics and their inexpressibility is precisely the meaning that all ten are “such.” From the cessation of ignorance through the cessation of aging-and-death, the meaning is extremely profound; the extremely profound therefore agrees with no truth. Arising-arising as inexpressible through non-arising-non-arising as inexpressible likewise all agree with no truth.

All the true truths within the seven kinds of Two Truths are inexpressible. Even the first true truth is inexpressible, just as Śāriputra said that within the liberation he had heard there was no speech; how much more so the latter six true truths? Neither birth-and-death nor nirvāṇa, neither the two extremes nor an apprehensible Middle Way: the five Middle Truths therefore agree with no truth. The one real is also called empty space. If even one cannot be obtained in empty space, how could there be another “real”? The one real therefore also agrees with no truth.

No truth itself establishes nothing. Within the great wisdom of equality there are no numerous differences. Although there are no numerous differences, it can be extended into immeasurable differences that fill the Dharma realm, without knowing where they come from. Although immeasurable differences appear, when gathered again not one thing remains, without knowing where they go. Neither coming nor going is the Dharma-body Buddha.

[Section Sixteen] Why the Objects Open and Combine, and Establishing Their Meaning from the Scripture

Going farther, the seven kinds of Two Truths open and combine and turn into one another in response to sentient beings’ conditions. Each kind also has the three intents of dispositions, dispositions and wisdom, and wisdom. The remaining five objects—the ten suchnesses, dependent origination, the Four Truths, the Three Truths, and the One Truth—should likewise each possess the three intents by analogy; the original treatise simply does not record them in detail. The Buddha teaches the Dharma through one sound, yet sentient beings each attain understanding according to their own kind. Students should reflect for themselves on this basis.

Someone asks: since the principle indicated by the various objects already perfectly interpenetrates and integrates, why must it still be opened into a profusion of colorful names and made to link with and enter one another? The answer is that the Tathāgata illuminates every nature and characteristic in the ten Dharma realms and knows which sentient beings are mature and which are not. People whose Great Vehicle faculties are not yet mature cannot have it forcibly taught to them, causing them to slander it. People whose Small Vehicle faculties are mature likewise cannot be allowed to miss the moment of liberation. The Buddha therefore follows what suits each person, sometimes teaching singly and sometimes in compound form, making the partial and perfect enter one another and gradually mature sentient beings. As long as sentient beings hear the Dharma suited to them, they can obtain benefit.

Although the Avataṃsaka Sūtra fully illuminates the ten realms, only two classes of faculties were mature at that time, so it matured them through the two gates of the Distinct and Perfect. The Tripiṭaka likewise illuminated the ten realms, but the faculties of the Two Vehicles were mature at that time, so it matured them through the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths. The Vaipulya scriptures likewise illuminated the ten realms, but four classes of faculties were mature at that time, so they matured them by making four gates enter one another. The Prajñāpāramitā scriptures likewise illuminated the ten realms, and four classes of faculties were mature, so they matured them by making three gates enter one another. The Lotus Sutra likewise illuminates the ten realms; now the nature and characteristics of the One Buddha Vehicle have matured, so it uses only the one perfect truth to mature sentient beings.

Without these skillful means, alternately concealing and revealing and maturing people level by level, how could objects and wisdom finally perfectly interpenetrate and become wondrous? A painter can make the depths and shades of blue, yellow, red, white, and black intermingle to paint various images. How much more so can the Buddha, the Dharma-king with mastery over all Dharmas, use various crisscrossing and mutually entering methods to train sentient beings?

Finally someone asks: perhaps the Lotus Sutra does not use all the names of the six objects taught above. Does it actually possess their meanings? The answer is that the names and meanings of the ten suchnesses were already explained completely earlier.

The meanings of all four kinds of twelvefold dependent origination are likewise present in the scripture. “The Parable of the Conjured City” chapter teaches arising-and-ceasing twelvefold dependent origination. “The Parable” chapter teaches that merely leaving the false and deluded is non-arising twelvefold dependent origination. The “Skillful Means” chapter says that the seed of buddhahood arises from conditions; these are the two kinds of twelvefold dependent origination beyond the realms, immeasurable and unconstructed.

The meanings of the four kinds of Four Truths are likewise complete. “The Parable” chapter says that the cause of all suffering has craving as its root; these are the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths. “The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs” chapter speaks of comprehending empty Dharmas; these are the non-arising Four Truths. That chapter further speaks of the unsurpassed path, while the “Skillful Means” chapter likewise speaks of teaching only the unsurpassed path, the Tathāgata’s extinction, and so forth. These are the two kinds of Four Truths beyond the realms, immeasurable and unconstructed.

The differences among the ten suchnesses are the conventional truth; only a buddha together with a buddha being able to exhaust the true mark of all dharmas is the true truth. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter says that one likewise does not distinguish conditioned from unconditioned or real from unreal Dharmas. Existence is the conventional truth and nonexistence the true truth; no longer distinguishing stops the two extremes and discloses the Middle Way. “The Lifespan of the Tathāgata” chapter says neither thus nor different: neither different stops the conventional; neither thus stops the true; together they disclose the meaning of the Three Truths.

The “Skillful Means” chapter says that other skillful means are further used to assist in disclosing ultimate meaning; this is the one real truth. It also says that only this one matter is real, which has the same meaning. The scripture further speaks of teaching the Dharma without discrimination and says the characteristics of all Dharmas are quiescently extinct and cannot be proclaimed in words; this is the meaning of no truth. It can therefore be known that although the names of the six objects open and combine, the meanings disclosed by the Lotus Sutra are complete.

1. Why Explain the Subtlety of Wisdom after the Subtlety of Objects?

Second is the subtlety of wisdom. Ultimate principle is hidden, profound, and wondrous and cannot be revealed without wisdom. Wisdom can know the object of knowledge, yet if the object does not interfuse, wisdom cannot become wondrous wisdom. Since the object has already interfused and become wondrous, wisdom accords with it, just as shadow follows form and echo responds to sound. The subtlety of wisdom is therefore explained immediately after the subtlety of objects.

The subtlety of wisdom has two great parts: first, a general discussion of the various wisdoms; second, an explanation of wisdom in relation to various objects. The general discussion again has six gates: first number, second class, third characteristic, fourth illumination, fifth judgment, and sixth opening.

2. The Names and Number of the Twenty Wisdoms

First is the number. There are twenty kinds in all.

First, worldly wisdom.

Second, wisdom of the five calming contemplations and four establishments of mindfulness.

Third, wisdom of the four wholesome roots: warmth, summit, forbearance, and the highest worldly Dharma.

Fourth, wisdom of the first, second, third, and fourth fruits.

Fifth, pratyekabuddha wisdom.

Sixth, wisdom of a bodhisattva cultivating the six perfections.

Seventh, wisdom of a śrāvaka in the Shared Teaching embodying all Dharmas as immediately empty.

Eighth, wisdom of a pratyekabuddha in the Shared Teaching embodying all Dharmas as immediately empty.

Ninth, the skillful wisdom by which a bodhisattva of the Shared Teaching enters the true.

Tenth, the wisdom by which a bodhisattva of the Shared Teaching emerges from emptiness into the provisional and teaches sentient beings.

Eleventh, wisdom of the ten faiths in the Distinct Teaching.

Twelfth, wisdom of the thirty minds—the ten abodes, ten practices, and ten dedications—in the Distinct Teaching.

Thirteenth, wisdom of the ten grounds in the Distinct Teaching.

Fourteenth, Buddha wisdom in the Tripiṭaka Teaching.

Fifteenth, Buddha wisdom in the Shared Teaching.

Sixteenth, Buddha wisdom in the Distinct Teaching.

Seventeenth, wisdom of disciples at the five grades in the Perfect Teaching.

Eighteenth, wisdom at the stage of purification of the six faculties.

Nineteenth, wisdom from the first abode through equal awakening.

Twentieth, wisdom of wondrous awakening.

3. Classifying the Twenty Wisdoms

Next are the classes. Worldly wisdom lacks the world-transcending path. It calculates according to wrong views and falsely grasps, while every movement of mind lies outside right principle. It neither believes nor enters and therefore forms a class of its own.

The five calming contemplations and four establishments of mindfulness have entered the initial worthy stage and carry the atmosphere of Buddha-Dharma, but all still belong to the outer ordinary stage and therefore form one class. The four wholesome roots all belong to the inner ordinary stage and form one class. The four fruits all see the true truth and form one class. A pratyekabuddha can contemplate specific characteristics and erode habitual tendencies and therefore forms a class of its own. A bodhisattva cultivating the six perfections has weaker wisdom regarding principle and stronger wisdom regarding phenomena and therefore forms a class of its own.

The preparatory śrāvaka stage of the Shared Teaching possesses the more excellent wisdom of embodying Dharmas and therefore forms a class of its own. The pratyekabuddha of the Shared Teaching is somewhat more excellent and forms another. The skillful wisdom by which a bodhisattva of the Shared Teaching enters the true studies all four gates and therefore forms its own class. The wisdom of a bodhisattva of the Shared Teaching who emerges into the provisional takes contemplation of conventionality and transforming others as primary and therefore forms its own class.

The ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching already know the Middle Way, surpassing the preceding wisdoms but not reaching the later stages, and therefore form their own class. The thirty minds of the Distinct Teaching all belong to the inner ordinary stage and form one class. The ten grounds all belong to noble wisdom and form one class.

The Buddha of the Tripiṭaka Teaching bears the name “station of teacher” and surpasses disciples of the Three Vehicles and therefore forms a class of its own. The Buddha of the Shared Teaching is superior in severing delusion and illuminating faculties and therefore forms another. The Buddha wisdom of the Distinct Teaching surpasses that of the Shared Teaching and therefore forms its own class.

Disciples at the five grades of the Perfect Teaching still possess the nature of affliction yet can know the Tathāgata’s secret treasury and therefore form their own class. The stage of purification of the six faculties is already near real realization and forms another. The stages from the first abode through equal awakening all break ignorance and form one class. The Buddha wisdom of wondrous awakening is unsurpassed and supremely honored and therefore forms a class of its own. In this way the items are divided or combined according to similarities in nature and judged as twenty classes; the details can be inferred accordingly.

4. Distinguishing the Characteristics of the Wisdoms

Worldly Wisdom

First is the worldly wisdom of India, which at its highest can reach the station of neither perception nor non-perception. The worldly wisdom valued in this land principally includes loyalty and filiality, the five phases, six arts, astronomy, geography, medicine, divination and physiognomy, military methods, commerce, the ability to identify a thousand plants and trees, and knowledge of the names of ten thousand kinds of birds and beasts. Some people can have fragrant paste applied on the left and flesh cut on the right without producing hatred or love. Some attain root dhyāna, produce the five superknowledges, make a river stand within the ear, transform Śakra into a ram, swallow and expel wind and clouds, and stroke the sun and moon with the hand. Yet the Dharmas they know remain worldly, the concentration they attain remains unmoving concentration, and the wisdom they attain still cannot lead beyond the world. Seeking reputation and profit through these things and increasing the delusions of views and craving all belong to what the worldly mind knows; hence it is called worldly wisdom.

The Five Calming Contemplations and Four Establishments of Mindfulness

The five calming contemplations and four establishments of mindfulness possess concentration and are therefore called calming; they possess wisdom and are therefore called contemplation. Contemplation overturns wrong views, and concentration restrains distraction. Counting the breath treats distraction; contemplation of impurity treats desire; what the treatise writes with the graph 滋 treats anger; dependent origination treats delusion; and recollection of the Buddha treats obstruction to the path.

The four establishments of mindfulness are four wisdom-contemplations of body, feeling, mind, and dharmas performed upon the truth of suffering to counteract the four inversions of permanence, pleasure, self, and purity. That the four inversions do not arise comes from these four contemplations. They can initially overturn the four inversions but have not yet entered noble principle and are therefore called wisdom of the outer ordinary stage.

The Dharma of Warmth

The Dharma of warmth conditions the Four Truths and produces wisdom. It first subdues afflictions, after which wisdom gradually grows into sixteen contemplative wisdoms. It resembles drilling wood to obtain fire: the upper and lower pieces depend upon each other, and after fire arises it can burn the fuel. Because wisdom already knows there is an object to be conditioned, it can produce the wisdom of warmth and cause contaminated Dharmas to begin to wither.

It is also like gathering flowers in a heap during summer: the heap itself produces heat, which then causes the flowers themselves to wither. It is also like contemplating the five aggregates in reliance upon the five aggregates, producing the fire of wisdom, and then burning the five aggregates upon which it relies; or like two bamboo stalks rubbing together to produce fire, which then burns the bamboo grove. Venerable Ghoṣa says that among the fire of wisdom seeking liberation, the Dharma of warmth appears first. Just as smoke is the first sign of fire, warmth is the first sign of the uncontaminated fire of wisdom; just as brightness appears before sunrise, it is called warmth.

Faith arises in the right Dharma and Vinaya. Revering and cherishing right Dharma conditions the truth of path; believing and accepting the Vinaya conditions the truth of cessation. Someone asks: The faith at the stage of warmth can originally condition all Four Truths, so why is it said to condition only path and cessation? The answer is that path and cessation are the most excellent and are therefore stated first. Another explanation says that right Dharma embraces suffering, origination, and path, while the Vinaya embraces cessation; all Four Truths are therefore still complete.

The Buddha once told Punarvasu that he had four clauses of Dharma to teach him, asked whether he wished to know them, and invited him to inquire freely. These four clauses are the Four Truths. At this stage, all giving and moral discipline are directed toward liberation; this is its intent. It arises from concentration in the form realm; this is its support. Wholesome roots arising before it within the same level of existence where one abides are its similar cause and condition. The summit Dharma within the four true truths is its functional result. Similar wholesome roots arising subsequently on the same level are its dependent result. The five aggregates of the form realm are its retribution. Definite orientation toward nirvāṇa and not severing wholesome roots are its benefit. The sixteen modes are its practice. It arises from conditions and belongs to wisdom produced by cultivation. It is tied to the form realm’s three samādhis and three faculties, corresponds to many minds according to the explanation given, and can also be lost through retreat.

The grades of warmth, summit, forbearance, and the highest worldly Dharma are divided in several ways. The first explanation divides warmth into lower-lower, lower-middle, and lower-upper; summit into middle-lower, middle-middle, and middle-upper; forbearance into upper-lower and upper-middle; and the highest worldly Dharma into upper-upper alone. If gathered into lower, middle, and upper grades, warmth is lower, summit middle, and forbearance together with the highest worldly Dharma upper.

The second explanation divides warmth into lower-lower and lower-middle; summit into lower-upper, middle-lower, and middle-middle; forbearance into middle-upper, upper-lower, and upper-middle; and the highest worldly Dharma into upper-upper alone. If again gathered into three grades, warmth is lower-lower, summit lower-middle, forbearance middle-upper, and the highest worldly Dharma upper-upper.

Ghoṣa’s division is different again: warmth has the three lower grades; summit has six grades, from lower-lower through middle-upper; forbearance has eight, from lower-lower through upper-middle; and the highest worldly Dharma has only upper-upper. If gathered into three grades, the Dharma of warmth has only the lower grade; the Dharma of summit has lower and middle; forbearance has lower, middle, and upper; and the highest worldly Dharma has only the upper grade.

Warmth has two kinds of relinquishment: it is relinquished when one leaves the realm and level to which it belongs, and it is relinquished through retreat. A person retreating from warmth may fall into hell and commit the five uninterrupted acts but does not sever wholesome roots. The same is true of summit. Forbearance has only relinquishment through leaving the realm and level and does not fall into hell. The remaining details can be inferred accordingly.

The Dharma of Summit

The Dharma of summit is a wholesome root of the form realm. Wholesome roots of the form realm may move or not move, abide or not abide, encounter difficulty or not, be severed or not, retreat or not. On the side extending from movement through retreat, two kinds are distinguished: warmth is lower and summit upper. On the side extending from nonmovement through non-retreat, two kinds are likewise distinguished: forbearance is lower and the highest worldly Dharma upper.

Another explanation says summit should be called lower summit. Why? It is at the summit of the Dharma of warmth and is therefore called summit, yet lies below the Dharma of forbearance and is therefore called lower. Another explanation says summit resembles a road across a mountain peak where a person cannot remain long. If no difficulty occurs, one necessarily crosses the peak and reaches the other side; if difficulty occurs, one retreats. Practitioners do not remain long at summit. Without difficulty they advance to forbearance, and with difficulty they retreat to warmth. Because it resembles a person on a mountaintop, it is called summit.

How is summit contemplated? A small degree of faith arises in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. It is called small because this Dharma cannot remain long. A small faith in the Buddha conditions the truth of path; a small faith in Dharma conditions the truth of cessation.

Question: It should be able to condition all Four Truths. Why is it said to condition only two?

Answer: Path and cessation are supremely excellent and unsurpassed in purity. They are wondrous, constitute release, and are where faith can most readily arise. To cause those being transformed to produce faithful delight, path and cessation are therefore stated first. If the World-Honored One said suffering and origination should be objects of reverent trust, those being transformed would find this difficult to accept. Affliction, unwholesome conduct, wrong views, and inversion are precisely the sources from which they continually suffer oppression; how could these be worthy of reverence and trust? Those being transformed can delight in path and cessation, so only these two truths are stated.

Another explanation says faith in the Buddha and Saṅgha conditions the truth of path, while faith in Dharma conditions the remaining three truths; together they exhaust all Four Truths.

Question: A person abiding at summit also has faith in the five aggregates, the Three Jewels, and the Four Truths. Why is only faith in the Three Jewels stated?

Answer: The Three Jewels are where people arouse faith and reverence. It is only that the object in which a practitioner’s mind delights differs. Delight arising in relation to the five aggregates is called warmth; delight arising in relation to the Three Jewels is called summit; delight arising in relation to the Four Truths is called forbearance.

Question: Why is retreat from summit specifically mentioned, while retreat from warmth is not?

Answer: Once retreat from summit is stated, it should of course be known that warmth can also retreat. It is simply that at the stage of summit, afflictions and karma come in especially great numbers to obstruct the practitioner. Afflictions and the rest seem to think: “If this person reaches forbearance, in whose body will I later receive my result?” As the practitioner is about to leave the desire realm, they likewise seem to think: “If this person leaves the desire realm, in whose body will I produce my result?” As the practitioner is about to leave the station of neither perception nor non-perception, they again seem to think: “Once this person leaves the defilement of desire belonging to that station and no longer receives a body, in whose body can I still produce my result?” At these three junctures, obstructions are especially numerous.

When practitioners retreat because of obstructions, they become deeply distressed, like someone who sees a treasury with great joy and loses it just as he is about to take the treasure. A person abiding at summit expected soon to reach forbearance, permanently sever the evil paths, attain great benefit, and approach a noble person, yet suddenly retreats and therefore feels exceptional distress. Retreat from summit is specifically mentioned for this reason.

If practitioners can draw near good friends, hear skillful methods that accord with them, contemplate correctly within, believe in the Buddha’s awakening, believe that Dharma is well taught, and believe that the Saṅgha possesses pure merit, this is called faith in the Jewels. Saying form is impermanent through saying consciousness is impermanent is called faith in the aggregates. Knowing suffering, origination, cessation, and path is called faith in the truths. One able to do this abides at summit; one unable to do so retreats from summit.

The Dharmas of Forbearance and the Highest Worldly Dharma

In the contemplation of the Dharma of forbearance, one first correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm and suffering in the form and formless realms; origination of the formations of the desire realm and origination of formations in the form and formless realms; cessation of formations in the desire realm and cessation of formations in the form and formless realms; the path severing formations of the desire realm and the path severing formations in the form and formless realms. These make thirty-two minds and are called lower forbearance.

The practitioner later reduces the practices and objects contemplated in sequence. Again one correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm and suffering in the form and formless realms through the path severing formations of the desire realm, removing contemplation of the path severing formations in the form and formless realms; from here one enters middle forbearance. Again one correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm and suffering in the form and formless realms through cessation of formations in the form and formless realms, removing all contemplation of the truth of path. Again one correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm and suffering in the form and formless realms through cessation of formations in the desire realm, removing cessation of formations in the form and formless realms. Again one correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm through origination of formations in the form and formless realms, removing all contemplation of the truth of cessation. Again one correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm through origination of formations in the desire realm, removing origination of formations in the form and formless realms. Again one correctly contemplates suffering in the desire, form, and formless realms, removing all contemplation of the truth of origination. Finally one correctly contemplates only suffering in the desire realm, removing suffering in the form and formless realms.

At the end one continuously and without interruption or separation correctly contemplates suffering in the desire realm. While contemplating in this way, profound disenchantment arises. One reduces the contemplation again until only two minds contemplate one practice, resembling suffering-Dharma forbearance and suffering-Dharma wisdom. Correct contemplation in this way is called middle forbearance. Using one mind to contemplate only suffering in the desire realm is called upper forbearance.

The highest worldly Dharma then arises. Immediately after the highest worldly Dharma, suffering-Dharma forbearance arises. It is like a person preparing to leave his own country for another. His possessions are too numerous to carry, so he first exchanges his goods for money. Finding even the money inconvenient, he exchanges it for gold. Finding the gold still too plentiful, he exchanges it for a precious object of high value and light weight and carries this to the other country. The practitioner similarly relinquishes and reduces objects step by step in uninterrupted succession and produces upper forbearance. After upper forbearance arises the highest worldly Dharma; after the highest worldly Dharma arises suffering-Dharma forbearance.

Question: Does the highest worldly Dharma have upper, middle, and lower grades?

Answer: In the case of one person alone, it does not have three grades; when many people are compared, it does. Śāriputra is upper, Maudgalyāyana middle, and the rest lower. It can also be divided into three grades in terms of buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas.

The highest worldly Dharma is the most excellent, excellent, long, honored, upper, and wondrous Dharma among mind and mental factors in relation to other Dharmas. Its being called “first” can be explained through partial superiority or comprehensive superiority.

Partial superiority means that it surpasses worldly Dharmas but does not surpass seeing the truths. Seeing the truths is inseparable from its retinue because the power of wisdom is predominant. Those who perfume dhyāna do not take birth together with ordinary beings. Upon reaching the wisdom of exhaustion, all wholesome roots permanently leave every defiled obstruction. Even the uncontaminated Dharma regarded as inferior among the three samādhis already surpasses the contaminated; how could the highest worldly Dharma be comprehensively superior to everything? If it surpassed only warmth, summit, and forbearance, each of those should also be called first. More precisely, it separately surpasses warmth, summit, and forbearance and every dhyāna, immeasurable state, liberation, and sphere of mastery attained by ordinary beings.

It can also be called comprehensively superior, but this does not mean it is stronger than other Dharmas in every activity. It alone can open the gate of the noble path. Dharmas such as seeing the truths cannot themselves open that gate again. Only because the highest worldly Dharma first opens it can seeing the truths and the other Dharmas become present for cultivation. The capacity to cultivate all of these depends upon the function of the highest worldly Dharma. Its name therefore has several meanings: it is first because it is most excellent; first because it can attain a wondrous result; and first because, like the top of a high banner, nothing stands above it.

Question: Do the preceding explanations differ from one another?

Answer: All praise what is upper and wondrous, but they also make real distinctions. Relative to contemplation of impurity and counting the breath, it is called most excellent; relative to wisdom from hearing, excellent; relative to wisdom from reflection, long; relative to warmth, honored; relative to summit, upper; relative to forbearance, wondrous. They can also be distinguished by the meditative concentration on which they rely: reliance on access concentration is most excellent; on the first dhyāna, excellent; on the intermediate dhyāna, long; on the second dhyāna, honored; on the third dhyāna, upper; on the fourth dhyāna, wondrous. All the preceding explanations follow the Vibhāṣā; those wishing to know them in detail should seek them in that treatise.

From the Four Fruits to Wondrous Awakening

The first fruit has eight forbearances and eight wisdoms. The following three fruits repeatedly examine the true truth through nine unobstructed wisdoms and nine liberating wisdoms. A pratyekabuddha uses both general and specific characteristics. For example, distinguishing suffering and origination in relation to past, present, and future and distinguishing the twelve links of dependent origination are characteristics of specific contemplation.

A bodhisattva cultivating the six perfections has weak wisdom regarding principle and can only subdue delusion without severing it, yet possesses strong wisdom regarding phenomena and can give body, life, and possessions without any regret. A śrāvaka can produce real wisdom and accomplish a noble fruit, yet still calculates, “This is my robe; this is my bowl.” Each has strengths and weaknesses and cannot be judged from only one side.

A śrāvaka of the Shared Teaching embodies conventionality as itself the true through one general-characteristic Dharma gate. A pratyekabuddha of the Shared Teaching can perform both general- and specific-characteristic contemplation within one gate and embody conventionality as itself the true. A bodhisattva of the Shared Teaching can pervasively perform both general- and specific-characteristic contemplation through all four gates, embody conventionality as itself the true, and also emerge pervasively from all four gates into the provisional to teach sentient beings.

The ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching first trust the true mark of suchness at the fruit and arouse the ten minds of faith in seeking that principle. The ten abodes principally cultivate entry into emptiness and concurrently train in the provisional and the Middle. The ten practices principally cultivate the provisional and concurrently train in the Middle. The ten dedications principally cultivate the Middle. At the first ground one directly realizes the Middle Way; from the second ground upward, one repeatedly examines the Middle Way.

The Buddha of the Tripiṭaka Teaching employs thirty-four minds in one period—eight forbearances, eight wisdoms, nine unobstructed states, and nine liberations—and completely severs both the afflictions themselves and their habitual tendencies. While seated at the site of awakening, the Buddha of the Shared Teaching uses wisdom corresponding in one thought to sever the remaining habitual tendencies. The Buddha of the Distinct Teaching uses the mind after vajra to sever the final grade of ignorance and ultimately accomplish buddhahood. Others say that the act of severing itself belongs to equal awakening, while at the Buddha stage nothing remains to be severed and awakening is simply realized in full.

Disciples at the five grades of the Perfect Teaching need not first sever the five desires in order to purify the faculties. Although they possess the nature of affliction, they can know the Tathāgata’s secret treasury. At the stage of purification of the six faculties, they attain wisdom resembling the Middle Way. At the first abode, they attain one Tathāgata body and immeasurable bodies, enter the sea of the Dharma-current, and naturally flow forward. The subsequent stages can be understood accordingly and are not recorded in detail.

5. The Twenty Wisdoms Illuminate the Various Objects

To say that wisdom alone illuminates an object, or that an object alone gives rise to wisdom, falls into fixed attachment to the four alternatives of self-production, production by another, joint production, and production without a cause; a detailed analysis appears elsewhere. When object and wisdom are established through the causes and conditions of the four siddhāntas, both are only names established according to causes and conditions.

Question: Wisdom can illuminate an object. Can the object also illuminate wisdom?

Answer: According to the inconceivable explanation, object and wisdom illuminate one another without doctrinal obstruction. The Renwang Prajñā says that wisdom and the place reached by wisdom are both called prajñā. This resembles two mirrors facing one another and illuminating each other. It also resembles one great earth producing various sprouts, while the growth of the sprouts in turn brings the earth to completion. Setting this level aside for the moment, the ten-suchness objects illuminated by the twenty wisdoms can first be listed.

Worldly wisdom illuminates the ten suchnesses of the six paths. Seven wisdoms, from the five calming contemplations and four establishments of mindfulness through wisdom embodying Dharmas, illuminate the ten suchnesses of the Two Vehicles. Wisdom of the six perfections and the Shared Teaching bodhisattva wisdom emerging into the provisional each have two affiliations: in seeking the Buddha path above, they illuminate the bodhisattva ten suchnesses; in transforming below, they illuminate the six paths’ ten suchnesses. The wisdom of the Distinct Teaching’s forty minds likewise has two affiliations: in seeking above it illuminates the bodhisattva ten suchnesses, and in transforming below it illuminates the six paths’ ten suchnesses. The wisdom of the ten grounds also has two affiliations: when it illuminates sequentially it illuminates the bodhisattva ten suchnesses; when it illuminates non-sequentially it illuminates the Buddha’s ten suchnesses. The four wisdoms beginning with the Perfect Teaching’s five grades all illuminate the ten suchnesses of the Buddha realm. This is only a general summary; the details can be unfolded.

When the twenty wisdoms illuminate the four kinds of twelve-link objects, the seven wisdoms of worldly wisdom, the five calming contemplations and four establishments of mindfulness, the four wholesome roots, the four fruits, pratyekabuddhas, the six perfections, and the Buddha of the Tripiṭaka Teaching illuminate the conceivable twelve-link object that arises and ceases. The five wisdoms of the Shared Teaching’s Three Vehicles entering the true, the bodhisattva emerging into the provisional, and the Buddha of the Shared Teaching illuminate the conceivable twelve-link object that neither arises nor ceases. The four wisdoms of the Distinct Teaching’s ten faiths, thirty minds, ten grounds, and Buddha illuminate the inconceivable twelve-link object that arises and ceases. Finer differences remain within these, but this is the broad judgment. The Perfect Teaching’s four wisdoms illuminate the inconceivable twelve-link object that neither arises nor ceases.

When the twenty wisdoms illuminate the four kinds of Four Truths, the preceding seven wisdoms of the Tripiṭaka Teaching and the rest illuminate the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths, the five wisdoms of the Shared Teaching illuminate the non-arising Four Truths, the four wisdoms of the Distinct Teaching illuminate the immeasurable Four Truths, and the four wisdoms of the Perfect Teaching illuminate the unconstructed Four Truths.

When the twenty wisdoms illuminate the Two Truths, the first seven illuminate the Two Truths that clarify emptiness by analyzing Dharmas; the next five illuminate the Two Truths that clarify emptiness by embodying Dharmas; the latter eight illuminate the Two Truths that reveal the Middle Way. Places where the Distinct and Perfect Teachings mutually include one another can be understood according to the meaning.

When the twenty wisdoms illuminate the Three Truths, the Two Truths illuminated by the first seven do not contain the Middle Way, and all Dharmas arisen from causes and conditions are included in conventional truth. The next five illuminate Two Truths that contain the Middle Way, and the clause “immediately empty” is entirely included in true truth. The eight wisdoms of the Distinct and Perfect Teachings illuminate Two Truths that reveal the Middle Way, and the clauses “it is provisional designation” and “it is also called the Middle Way” are entirely included in the truth of the Middle Way.

When the twenty wisdoms illuminate the truth of one reality, one must rely on the Explanatory Treatise’s statement that all four siddhāntas can be called real: real because of the worldly siddhānta through real because of the ultimate-meaning siddhānta. From this it can be known that true speech likewise extends through all four kinds of Four Truths: real according to arising and ceasing, real according to non-arising and non-ceasing, real according to immeasurability, and real according to the unconstructed. The first seven Tripiṭaka wisdoms illuminate the reality of arising and ceasing; the five Shared wisdoms illuminate the reality of non-arising and non-ceasing; the four Distinct wisdoms illuminate immeasurable reality; and the four Perfect wisdoms illuminate unconstructed reality. The various earlier and later meanings of reality can all be understood accordingly.

When the twenty wisdoms are correlated with no-truth and no-illumination, no-truth is not another special principle. If someone awakens within any of the four kinds of Four Truths, he no longer sees an opposition between truth and non-truth; no-truth therefore also extends through all four. The first seven wisdoms illuminate the no-truth of arising and ceasing because arising-arising is inexpressible. The next five illuminate the no-truth of non-arising and non-ceasing because arising-non-arising is inexpressible. The four Distinct wisdoms illuminate immeasurable no-truth because non-arising-arising is inexpressible. The four Perfect wisdoms illuminate unconstructed no-truth because non-arising-non-arising is inexpressible.

The earlier no-truth is provisional and the latter no-truth real; this distinction is made in terms of verbal teaching. If one speaks from wondrous awakening that is the same as what the minds of noble beings illuminate, one no longer sees provisional or real, and it is therefore neither provisional nor real. It is like using an empty fist to entice a small child: provisionality is taught as skillful means and reality is also taught as skillful means in order to guide all sentient beings. On genuinely integrating and entering principle, provisional and real are no longer present; hence what is neither provisional nor real is called wondrous.

6. Judging Coarse and Wondrous Wisdom

First, judgment is made through the twenty wisdoms: the first twelve kinds are coarse and the latter eight wondrous. Why? The buddhas of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings are themselves impermanent and do not teach permanence. How could the Two Vehicles and bodhisattvas within these teachings hear permanence, trust permanence, or cultivate permanence? They are therefore judged coarse. At the initial stage of the Distinct Teaching’s ten faiths, practitioners already hear, trust, and cultivate permanence and thereby surpass even the buddhas of the preceding two teachings; how much more do the later stages surpass them? They are therefore judged wondrous. Ordinary claims that the Lotus does not teach permanence stop at an understanding of the Tripiṭaka Teaching. Here the ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching already know the Middle Way and surpass the buddhas of the earlier teachings; hence the latter eight kinds are wondrous.

Examined more finely, the Distinct Teaching’s four wisdoms are judged three coarse and one wondrous, while all four wisdoms of the Perfect Teaching are called wondrous. The Masters of the Grounds say the Middle Way can be revealed only at the fruit stage, while beginning students merely look up in faith to this principle, like suspending a mountain by a lotus-root fiber. Their faith and practice are therefore not of the perfect intent. The wisdom of the Distinct Teaching’s ten faiths is consequently coarse. The ten abodes principally cultivate emptiness and concurrently cultivate the provisional and Middle; the ten practices principally cultivate the provisional and concurrently cultivate the Middle; the ten dedications only then begin principally to cultivate the Middle. What is known at this point is an isolated principle that does not yet possess all Dharmas, so these remain coarse. Wisdom upon entering the grounds breaks ignorance, sees the Middle Way, and is wondrous when realization is entered. This resembles the fact that both the Shared and Tripiṭaka Teachings can attain the path, while the Tripiṭaka Dharma gate is more awkward. The Distinct Teaching is likewise still a provisional teaching gate, while its realized entry is wondrous.

All four wisdoms of the Perfect Teaching are wondrous because they are taught according to the true characteristics of all dharmas, trusted according to what is taught, and practiced according to real principle. From the five grades through wondrous awakening they are all real and not merely expedient; hence all are wondrous. This is called speaking of wondrous wisdom in relation to the preceding coarse wisdoms.

Coarse and wondrous can also be judged through knowledge and seeing. Knowledge and seeing have four alternatives: neither knowing nor seeing, knowing but not seeing, seeing but not knowing, and both knowing and seeing. These are first explained according to the Tripiṭaka Teaching and then according to the Perfect Teaching; the intermediate teachings can be inferred.

According to the Tripiṭaka Teaching, ordinary beings have not heard and therefore do not know; they have not realized and therefore do not see. From the five calming contemplations and four establishments of mindfulness through the highest worldly Dharma, people are called knowing because they have heard but do not see because they have not realized. Pratyekabuddhas do not attain through hearing and therefore do not know, yet realize naturally and therefore see. Those at the four fruits have heard and therefore know and have realized and therefore see. These levels can then be transmitted and compared with one another to judge coarse and wondrous.

According to the Perfect Teaching, those in the seven preparatory stages have not heard and therefore do not know, and have not realized and therefore do not see. Those at the five grades and the stage of the six faculties know because of hearing but do not see because they have not directly realized. Some people’s habituation from former lives is activated, enabling them to see without hearing in the present life; this is seeing without knowing. Those who hear according to the teaching and enter realization both know and see. Coarse and wondrous can be judged by comparing the earlier and later levels in each case.

Ultimately, the twenty preceding wisdoms can be summarized as the two wisdoms, provisional and real. The scriptural phrase “the Tathāgata’s skillful knowledge and vision and pāramitā are all fully complete” comprehensively includes all the preceding provisional wisdoms. “The Tathāgata’s knowledge and vision are vast, great, profound, and far-reaching” comprehensively includes all the preceding real wisdoms. Because skillful means are fully complete, nothing is excluded; because knowledge and vision are vast, great, profound, and far-reaching, nothing is left outside. The object resembles an abyss with no boundary, and wisdom resembles great water impossible to measure. Only buddha together with buddha can exhaust it.

Such knowledge and vision is eye and wisdom. Eye means the complete five eyes, while wisdom means the three wisdoms in one mind. The knowledge of all modes knows the real, while the other two wisdoms know the provisional. The Buddha eye sees the real, while the other four eyes see the provisional. This knowing is seeing, and this seeing is knowing. In relation to the preceding wisdoms, they are coarse, while this knowledge and vision is called wondrous.

If the meaning of knowledge and vision has been grasped, the five eyes need not be discussed again. To help those who have not yet understood, coarse and wondrous are judged further through the five eyes. How can a flesh eye that is closed and blind see form? One merely hears another person describe it and produces various imaginings, none of which is genuine seeing. To open the eye, the film over it should be cured. What use is there in arguing with closed eyes? Imagining with closed eyes is coarse; seeing directly with an open eye is wondrous.

Before the divine eye opens, it cannot see beyond obstructing objects and is therefore coarse. Through the power of meditative concentration, vows, and wisdom, a pure faculty of form arises that can see clearly both within and beyond obstructions, with neither light nor darkness presenting any barrier; it is then wondrous. Before the wisdom eye opens, one always travels a dead road. However many affective imaginings arise, none are true, and this is coarse. When uncontaminated wisdom suddenly arises and one clearly sees the principle of the truths, it is wondrous. Before the Dharma eye opens, one does not know faculties and teaches wrongly, like Śāriputra’s one-sided instruction or Pūrṇa putting defiled food into a precious vessel; this is coarse. When the obstructions and delusion of not knowing faculties are broken and one can distinguish medicine from illness, it is wondrous.

Before the Buddha eye opens, one cannot see the true mark. The treatise therefore says that persons of the Two Vehicles, those newly arousing the mind, and non-retrogressing bodhisattvas cannot know it; hence all four eyes are coarse. Excepted are bodhisattvas whose power of faith is firm: entering through faith, they accomplish a Buddha eye in resemblance and can open the Buddha’s real knowing-and-seeing; this alone is called wondrous. Other teachings often explain only four eyes or explain the Buddha eye while carrying the four eyes, so they remain coarse. The present scripture uniquely reveals the Buddha eye and is therefore wondrous. This is speaking of the wondrous in relation to the coarse.

7. Opening Coarse Wisdom to Reveal Wondrous Wisdom

If the first sixteen kinds of wisdom have not been resolved, they are only coarse wisdom. Once resolved, all become wondrous wisdom. King Wondrous Adornment, for example, originally practiced with the worldly wisdom of a non-Buddhist. On hearing the Lotus Sutra, he attained resolution, entered right characteristics through wrong characteristics, cultivated the thirty-seven factors without moving among the various views, and entered the eight rights without abandoning the eight wrongs. This is resolving worldly wisdom and bringing it into wondrous wisdom. The stage entered may correspond to the five grades, resemblance, or partial realization; an appropriate entry occurs at each level, and the detailed meaning can be unfolded.

From the skillful wisdom of the five calming contemplations through the Buddha wisdom of the Shared Teaching, any wisdom that remains unresolved is coarse. Now opening the provisional to reveal the real and teaching that what they practiced was originally the bodhisattva path brings them into the wondrous stages. Each of the first twelve wisdoms should be brought into the four wondrous wisdoms of the Perfect Teaching, whether the five grades, resemblance, or partial realization, according to its corresponding entry. The successive wisdom of the Distinct Teaching is likewise resolved and enters wondrous wisdom; it can be gathered in detail according to the stage it is in itself and the stage it becomes after entry.

Once all sixteen coarse wisdoms become wondrous, no coarse remains with which the wondrous stands in relation. This is the absolute subtlety of wisdom.

Next the coarse eyes are opened into the wondrous eye. Although other scriptures teach the five eyes, those eyes do not interfuse and are therefore coarse. The present scripture resolves the first four eyes and causes all to enter the Buddha eye. The treatise says that the eye born of father and mother attains purity. Although a person studying the Great Vehicle still possesses a flesh eye, it is called the Buddha eye. This is resolving the flesh eye and naming it the Buddha eye.

The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra asks who in the world possesses the true divine eye and answers that only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, sees buddha lands without dual marks. This resolves the divine eye into the Buddha eye. The wish to attain, like the World-Honored One, the foremost purity of the wisdom eye resolves the wisdom eye and brings it into the wondrous. Resolving the Dharma eye into the wondrous is the perfection of wisdom knowing the limits of all Dharmas. The four eyes interfuse with the Buddha eye, quiescent yet constantly illuminating. Hence resolving the Dharma of the śrāvakas makes this king among scriptures. With the five eyes complete, awakening is accomplished and the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing opened; therefore it is called wondrous.

Question: Only the actual opening of the Buddha eye is called wondrous. Why can the purification of the six faculties also be called wondrous?

Answer: Although the Buddha eye has not yet opened completely, the practitioner already studies perfectly and trusts perfectly. It resembles a kalaviṅka bird still within the graph 㲉, “shell,” whose voice already surpasses all other birds. This is nominal subtlety and subtlety of resemblance. Once the eye truly opens, there is subtlety of partial realization and ultimate subtlety. The remaining details can be inferred accordingly.

8. Distinguishing Wisdom in Relation to Five Kinds of Object

Clarifying wisdom in relation to objects again has two parts: first, distinguishing the five kinds of object each wisdom addresses; second, explaining how the wisdoms successively illuminate the preceding objects.

The first part should originally begin by explaining wisdom in relation to the object of the ten suchnesses, but the ten suchnesses are the shared purport of the entire scripture and will be discussed everywhere. Their meaning can be understood, so they are not explained again here.

Four Wisdoms Contemplating the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

Next, wisdom is explained in relation to the four kinds of twelve-link object. The Great Scripture says contemplation of the twelve links has four kinds: contemplation with lower wisdom attains śrāvaka awakening; contemplation with middle wisdom attains pratyekabuddha awakening; contemplation with upper wisdom attains bodhisattva awakening; contemplation with highest wisdom attains Buddha awakening. The twelve links are originally one object, but differences in the understanding of those who contemplate open them into four objects.

The four contemplations will now be explained according to the intent of the Four Teachings. The Tripiṭaka Teaching has śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas. All three begin by using analytical wisdom to contemplate the phenomena of the twelve links within the realms. Analytical wisdom is relatively shallow and weak, and among these three kinds of person the śrāvaka has the dullest faculties. The duller person therefore designates the shallower Dharma, which is called lower wisdom.

The Shared Teaching likewise has three kinds of person, all of whom use wisdom embodying Dharmas to contemplate the principle of the twelve links within the realms. Although embodying Dharmas is deeper than analysis, skillful in relation to the Tripiṭaka Teaching, it remains unskillful in relation to the Distinct Teaching. Among the three kinds of person, the pratyekabuddha occupies the middle. The middle person therefore designates the Dharma of the Shared Teaching, which is called middle wisdom.

Both the Buddha and bodhisattva of the Distinct Teaching know the phenomena of the twelve links beyond the realms. A bodhisattva who cultivates in sequence cannot yet be called upper in relation to the Buddha of the Distinct Teaching, but is already an upper Dharma in relation to the Shared and Tripiṭaka Teachings. It is therefore called upper wisdom.

Both the Buddha and bodhisattva of the Perfect Teaching contemplate the principle of the twelve links beyond the realms. From the initial mind, they accord with the Middle in the very phenomena before them. This Dharma is most excellent, so it is designated by the Buddha and called contemplation with highest wisdom. Explaining the four contemplations through the Four Teachings accords with their doctrinal meaning.

How does lower wisdom contemplate? It contemplates in reverse that feeling exists because of contact, contact because of the six sense fields, the six sense fields because of name-and-form, name-and-form because of consciousness, consciousness because of formations, and formations because of ignorance. Ignorance is inversion and unwholesome attention. Unwholesome attention creates unwholesome formations and brings the consciousness, name-and-form, and the rest of the four evil destinations. Wholesome attention creates wholesome formations and brings the consciousness, name-and-form, and the rest of humans and devas.

It then contemplates that ignorance is impermanent thought after thought, with neither earlier nor later thought able to remain. The wholesome and unwholesome produced from it also change swiftly and quickly decay. The name-and-form received continually decline and are replaced. Affliction, karma, and suffering mutually act as causes and conditions without stopping for a moment. The two past causes of ignorance and formations bring the five present results of consciousness, name-and-form, six sense fields, contact, and feeling. The three present causes of craving, grasping, and existence bring the two future results of birth and aging-and-death. The three times cycle repeatedly like a turning wheel.

Since the root of deluded confusion is impermanent, suffering, empty, and without self, ignorance ceases. Because ignorance ceases, formations cease, and so on through the cessation of aging-and-death. Without lighting a fire, there is no smoke. This is called severing bondage of the causal seed. Without the causal seed, there is no subsequent result. Finally, with the wisdom of cessation one causes the body to return to ash-like quiescence and leaves the twenty-five forms of existence. This is called severing bondage of result. This is lower wisdom contemplating the twelve links and attaining śrāvaka awakening.

Middle wisdom likewise contemplates in reverse that feeling exists because of contact through formations existing because of ignorance. Ignorance is only a single thought of deluded mind. Mind has no identifiable form or material obstruction and receives only an established name. When this name is sought within, without, and between within and without, it cannot be found. It cannot be said to abide or not abide and resembles an illusion that deceives the eyes.

The substance and characteristic of ignorance are originally unreal; it arises only through the conjunction of the conditions of false imagination. Precisely because nothing real exists, it is provisionally named ignorance. Unwholesome attention is created by mental activity. Because sentient beings do not understand that ignorance is illusory, they produce wholesome and unwholesome attention, then wholesome and unwholesome formations, and receive wholesome and unwholesome name-and-form, contact, and feeling. Now penetrating ignorance as illusory, one knows that formations are also illusory transformations and that consciousness, name-and-form, and the rest produced from illusory formations are all illusory. Craving, grasping, existence, and birth make the three times rotate, yet are likewise only illusory transformations and change, without one real Dharma. A person with wisdom should produce neither craving nor anger within them.

Since ignorance is unobtainable, ignorance does not arise; because it does not arise, neither does it cease. Formations through aging-and-death likewise neither arise nor cease. Because they do not arise, they are not newly produced; because they do not cease, they are not old Dharmas. Without an old Dharma, there is no old result that must be extinguished; without a new Dharma, there is no new cause that can be created. Because there is nothing new, bondage of the causal seed is severed; because there is nothing old, bondage of result is severed. This is middle wisdom contemplating the twelve links and attaining pratyekabuddha awakening.

Upper wisdom likewise contemplates in reverse that feeling exists because of contact through formations existing because of ignorance. Ignorance is only a single thought of deluded mind. Because mind is deluded, various afflictions are distinguished; from afflictions various forms of karma are distinguished; and from karma various forms of suffering are distinguished. It closely contemplates that the kinds of affliction differ. Because afflictions differ, karmas differ; because karmas differ, suffering differs. The various formations are not one, and name-and-form also differ. The various paths of affliction, karma, and suffering are immeasurable and boundless, yet can be clearly distinguished without confusion.

It knows that this affliction produces this karma and receives this suffering without involving another karma or another affliction. The three paths in this way cover the three virtues of prajñā, liberation, and Dharma body, so skillful means for breaking the obstructions are likewise immeasurable. When ignorance is broken, prajñā is revealed. When karma is broken, liberation is revealed. When consciousness and name-and-form are broken, the Dharma body is revealed. Craving, grasping, existence, and aging-and-death are distinguished in the same way. After attaining understanding for oneself, one can also teach others, know all Dharmas within every kind, produce wisdom of the varieties of the path, and guide and benefit sentient beings. This is upper wisdom contemplating the twelve links.

Highest wisdom likewise contemplates in reverse that feeling exists because of contact through formations existing because of ignorance, yet knows that the three paths included within the twelve links are in their very identity the three virtues. Since the three paths are the three virtues, how could one first sever and destroy the three virtues and then seek them somewhere else? Doing so would instead destroy the true mark of all dharmas.

The path of affliction is itself prajñā, so affliction is not really dark. Prajñā is itself affliction, so prajñā has no separate real brightness. Since affliction is not really dark, why sever it separately? Since prajñā has no separate brightness, what could it break? Darkness is originally not dark, and no separate brightness must be sought to counteract it. Just as Jīvaka can transform poison into medicine, how could this thing be discarded to obtain another?

The path of karma is itself liberation, so karma is not really bondage. Liberation is itself karma, so liberation has no separate freedom. Since karma is not real bondage, what is there to leave? Since liberation has no separate freedom, what is there to attain? It resembles a person with superknowledge who need not flee this place to go somewhere else.

The path of suffering is itself the Dharma body, so suffering is not really birth and death. The Dharma body is itself birth and death, so the Dharma body has no separate pleasure to crave. Since suffering is not really birth and death, what is there to grieve? Since the Dharma body has no separate pleasure, what is there to delight in? It resembles empty space, which has neither gain nor loss and neither joy nor sorrow.

When contemplated in this way, the three paths do not differ from the three virtues, and the three virtues do not differ from the three paths. All Buddha-Dharmas are complete precisely within the three paths. The three paths are the three virtues; the three virtues are great nirvāṇa and are called the secret treasury. The Buddha fruit is thereby complete. Deep contemplation of the twelve links is sitting at the site of awakening; the Buddha cause is thereby complete. Buddha cause and Buddha fruit are both fully complete, and the rest can be inferred. This is highest wisdom contemplating the twelve links and attaining Buddha awakening.

According to these four contemplations, coarse and wondrous should also be judged and the coarse opened to reveal the wondrous. The meaning can be understood and is not recorded in detail. Each of the four wisdoms illuminates one of four objects. If the objects do not turn, the wisdom illuminating them is coarse. If the four objects turn into wondrous objects, the coarse wisdoms immediately become wondrous wisdoms, still possessing both relational and absolute meanings.

Four Wisdoms Contemplating the Four Truths

Next, wisdom is explained in relation to the four kinds of Four Truths. The Great Scripture says that wisdom knowing the noble truths has two kinds, middle and upper. Middle wisdom belongs to śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; upper wisdom belongs to buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to this scriptural passage, embodying and analytical wisdom are combined as middle wisdom, while those of sharp and dull faculties within the Great Vehicle are combined as upper wisdom.

When these are unfolded according to sharp and dull faculties, within and beyond the realms, and phenomena and principle, they become four. Śrāvakas have dull faculties, condition the phenomena of the Four Truths, and produce wisdom of the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths. Pratyekabuddhas have sharp faculties, condition the principle of the Four Truths, and produce wisdom of the non-arising Four Truths. Bodhisattvas have relatively shallow wisdom, condition inconceivable phenomena, and produce wisdom of the immeasurable Four Truths. Buddhas have profound wisdom, condition inconceivable principle, and produce wisdom of the unconstructed Four Truths. This is one mode of opening and combining found in the Great Scripture.

The Great Scripture also says that ordinary beings have suffering but no truth, while śrāvakas have both suffering and the truth of suffering. Ordinary beings cannot see the principle within suffering and are therefore said to have no truth. Śrāvakas can see impermanence, suffering, and emptiness and are therefore said to have truth. This is wisdom of the arising-and-ceasing Four Truths.

The scripture also says that bodhisattvas understand suffering as without suffering, yet possess true truth. Because they embody suffering as itself not suffering, it says there is no suffering; because they see the true in the very phenomena, it says they possess truth. This is wisdom of the non-arising Four Truths in a Great Vehicle Dharma gate.

The scripture also says that knowing the aggregates as suffering, knowing the sense fields as gates and also calling them suffering, and knowing the elements as divisions, as nature, and also as knowing is called middle wisdom. According to the preceding passage, this should belong to śrāvaka wisdom. Yet the scripture next says that the various forms of suffering, sense fields, and elements each have immeasurable characteristics that the Buddha did not exhaustively explain in that scripture. Feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise and cannot be known by śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. This differs from the preceding two meanings. Since it is called upper wisdom and does not belong to the Two Vehicles, it can precisely be understood as a bodhisattva of the Distinct Teaching contemplating Buddha-Dharmas as numerous as Ganges sands and the principle of tathāgatagarbha. This is wisdom of the immeasurable Four Truths.

The scripture further says that the Tathāgata is not suffering, not origination, not cessation, not path, and not truth, but is real; space too is not suffering and not truth, but is real. “Not suffering” means it is not false birth and death. “Not truth” means it is not the nirvāṇa of the Two Vehicles. “Real” means the true mark, Middle Way, and buddha-nature.

The scripture also says there is suffering, cause of suffering, exhaustion of suffering, and counteraction to suffering, while the Tathāgata is not suffering through not counteraction and is therefore real. Since this meaning differs from the preceding three sets, it is wisdom of the unconstructed Four Truths. As suffering is divided into four, the other three truths should be likewise: there is origination, result of origination, exhaustion of origination, and counteraction to origination; there is exhaustion, cause of exhaustion, obstruction to exhaustion, and characteristic of the obstruction to exhaustion; there is counteraction, result of counteraction, obstruction to counteraction, and characteristic of the obstruction to counteraction. The Tathāgata is none of the sixteen aspects made by the four aspects of each truth and is only real.

When the various wisdoms above contemplate the Four Truths, if the truths have not yet interfused, both wisdom and truth are coarse. Among them, only what is not suffering and not counteraction but real is wondrous. When the truths interfuse perfectly, wisdom interfuses with them, and all become the wondrous wisdom in which the Tathāgata is not suffering and not truth but real. This possesses both relational and absolute meanings.

This point ends the first part of Fascicle Three of the Fahua Xuanyi. What follows enters the second part of Fascicle Three and bears the attribution that Master Zhiyi of Tiantai taught it.

Seven Sets of Provisional and Real Wisdom

Third, wisdom in relation to the object of the Two Truths means provisional wisdom and real wisdom. The preceding text opened true and conventional truth into seven kinds; provisional and real wisdom are now likewise opened into seven sets: analytical provisional and real wisdom; provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas; provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas and containing the Middle; provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas and revealing the Middle; provisional and real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching; provisional and real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching containing the Perfect; and provisional and real wisdom of the Perfect Teaching. These include four internal and external modes of identity and nonidentity together with three forms of connection, making seven sets.

Each of the preceding seven sets of Two Truths opens into three: according to sentient beings’ dispositions, according to dispositions together with wisdom, and according to wisdom, making twenty-one kinds of truth. The seven sets of two wisdoms now likewise each open into three: provisional and real wisdom for transforming others; provisional and real wisdom of one’s own practice together with transforming others; and provisional and real wisdom of one’s own practice. These make twenty-one kinds of provisional and real wisdom.

First is analytical provisional and real wisdom. The wisdom illuminating all the manifold differences of phenomena is provisional; the wisdom exhausting the real principle of those differences is real. When these two wisdoms teach people of various faculties and conditions, they make various appropriate distinctions according to differences in desire, suitability, counteraction, and awakening. Although the teachings are many, none go beyond analytical provisional and real wisdom; there are therefore two wisdoms for transforming others.

Both provisional and real wisdom taught to others follow conditions. When comprehensively gathered, both are called provisional wisdom. The provisional and real internally realized are both actual realization and, when comprehensively gathered, are called real wisdom. Comparing outward teaching with inner realization gives provisional and real wisdom of one’s own practice together with transforming others. Within the provisional and real of personal realization, which oneself alone understands and others cannot see, provisional and real can again be distinguished; hence there are provisional and real wisdoms of one’s own practice.

Distinguishing further according to the Tripiṭaka Teaching, the Buddha mostly uses the real wisdom of transforming others to teach the Two Vehicles. The Two Vehicles receive this transforming-other reality and cultivate it into the real wisdom of their own practice, so the Buddha confirms that he and Kāśyapa sit together upon the bed of liberation. The Buddha mostly uses the provisional wisdom of transforming others to teach bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas receive this transforming-other provisionality and cultivate it into the provisional wisdom of their own practice, and the Buddha likewise confirms that he is the same. Compared with the two wisdoms embodying Dharmas, all three kinds of two wisdoms are merely provisional. Nāgārjuna therefore first challenges how the path of awakening could be cultivated in an impure mind and then uses the simile of a poisoned vessel unfit to hold food to refute the analytical meaning: food placed in a poisoned vessel would kill. Viewed from the next set, all three kinds of the first set are judged provisional.

Second is provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas. It embodies the manifold forms as empty in their very identity. Illuminating form is provisional wisdom; illuminating emptiness is real wisdom. According to the wording of Great Prajñā recorded by the treatise, “form itself is emptiness; it is not that form is extinguished and then becomes empty,” which directly clarifies this meaning.

Provisional and real are taught for different faculties and conditions, and because faculties and conditions differ, teachings take various forms. Although these teachings differ, all are included within provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas; there are therefore two wisdoms for transforming others. Since the two transforming-other wisdoms are taught according to dispositions, both are called provisional. Since the provisional and real of inner realization are personally realized, both are called real. Comparing one’s own reality with others’ provisionality produces the two wisdoms of one’s own practice together with transforming others. Distinguishing provisional and real again within one’s own realization produces the two wisdoms of one’s own practice. Compared with the two wisdoms containing the Middle, all three kinds are again called provisional because the Middle Way is not yet present.

Third is provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas and containing the Middle. It embodies form as immediately empty, while this emptiness also contains nonemptiness. Illuminating form is provisional wisdom; illuminating emptiness and nonemptiness is real wisdom. These two wisdoms address immeasurable faculties and conditions and teach in many different ways according to sentient beings’ affective views. Although the different teachings are immeasurable, they are all included in the two wisdoms containing the Middle; hence there are two wisdoms for transforming others. Transforming others responds to faculties and is comprehensively called provisional. The two wisdoms of personal realization are comprehensively called real. Distinguishing provisional and real again within personal realization gives two wisdoms of one’s own practice. Compared with the two wisdoms revealing the Middle, all three remain provisional because they still carry empty truth and the skillful means of the teaching path.

Fourth is provisional and real wisdom embodying Dharmas and revealing the Middle. It embodies form as immediately empty and nonempty and also clarifies that all Dharmas converge upon emptiness and nonemptiness. Knowing form is provisional wisdom. Knowing emptiness and nonemptiness and that all Dharmas converge upon emptiness and nonemptiness is real wisdom. Teaching these two wisdoms for immeasurable faculties and conditions produces immeasurable teachings, all included within the two wisdoms revealing the Middle; hence there are two wisdoms for transforming others. Transforming others follows conditions and is comprehensively called provisional. Personal realization is attainment and is comprehensively called real. Comparing personal realization with transforming others gives the two wisdoms of one’s own practice together with transforming others. Distinguishing provisional and real again within personal realization gives two wisdoms of one’s own practice. Compared with the provisional and real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching, all three are still called provisional because they continue to carry immediate emptiness and the skillful means of the teaching path.

Fifth is provisional and real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching. It embodies form as immediately empty and also nonempty. Form and emptiness both belong to provisional wisdom; nonemptiness alone is real wisdom. These two wisdoms make various distinctions according to hundreds and thousands of faculties and conditions. Although the distinctions are many, all are included within sequential provisional and real wisdom; hence there are two wisdoms for transforming others. Everything taught to others is for faculties and conditions and is comprehensively called provisional. The two wisdoms of personal realization are direct realization and are comprehensively called real. Comparing self and other produces the two wisdoms of one’s own practice together with transforming others. Distinguishing the two wisdoms within personal realization produces the two wisdoms of one’s own practice. Compared with the two wisdoms of the Distinct Teaching containing the Perfect, all three remain provisional because they carry sequence and the teaching path.

Sixth is provisional and real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching containing the Perfect. Form is empty and also nonempty, and all Dharmas converge upon nonemptiness. Empty form is provisional wisdom; all Dharmas converging upon nonemptiness is real wisdom. These two wisdoms make various distinctions according to hundreds and thousands of faculties and conditions. Although the distinctions are many, all are included within the Distinct Teaching’s two wisdoms containing the Perfect; hence there are two wisdoms for transforming others. Transforming others is for conditions and is comprehensively called provisional. The two wisdoms of personal realization are direct realization and are comprehensively called real. Comparing self and other produces two wisdoms. Distinguishing provisional and real again within personal realization gives two wisdoms of one’s own practice. Compared with the Perfect Teaching’s two wisdoms, all three remain provisional because they still carry sequence and the teaching path.

Seventh is provisional and real wisdom of the Perfect Teaching. Form is immediately empty and immediately nonempty, and all Dharmas converge upon form, emptiness, and nonemptiness. All Dharmas converging upon form and emptiness is provisional wisdom; all Dharmas converging upon nonemptiness is real wisdom. This real wisdom is itself provisional wisdom, and provisional wisdom is itself real wisdom; the two have no separating difference.

To teach sentient beings, various teachings are given according to different causes and conditions, desires, suitability, counteraction, and awakening. Although the teachings are many, all are included within the Perfect Teaching’s two wisdoms; hence there are two wisdoms for transforming others. Since transforming others follows sentient beings’ affective views, it is comprehensively called provisional. The two wisdoms of personal realization are comprehensively called real. Distinguishing two wisdoms again within personal realization produces three different kinds. This set of two wisdoms no longer carries the eighteen kinds of skillful two wisdoms of analysis and the rest that preceded it. It alone is true provisionality and true reality and is called the Buddha’s provisional and real wisdom. The scripture’s description of the Tathāgata’s knowledge and vision as vast, great, profound, and far-reaching and of the pāramitā of skillful means as fully complete applies only to this set, which is called wondrous and stands in relation to the preceding sets as coarse.

Judgment can then be made level by level. From analytical two wisdoms through the two wisdoms revealing the Middle are twelve kinds. Compared with the three that reveal the Middle, all nine preceding kinds are called coarse, while those revealing the Middle are wondrous, because the subtlety of revealing the Middle does not differ from later subtlety. Beginning with sequential two wisdoms are nine kinds; the sequential are coarse and the non-sequential wondrous. One can also judge all eighteen preceding kinds of two wisdoms coarse, with only the three non-sequential kinds wondrous. Within the three non-sequential kinds, the first two can again be judged coarse and the final kind wondrous.

Distinguished through the Five Flavors, the milk teaching has three sets and nine kinds of two wisdoms; the curds teaching has one set and three kinds; raw ghee has four sets and twelve kinds; refined ghee has three sets and nine kinds; the present scripture has only two sets and three kinds. The provisional and real of the curds teaching are entirely coarse, while those of the clarified-essence teaching are entirely wondrous. Each of the other three flavors contains both coarse and wondrous, as can be understood from the preceding meaning.

Without using the preceding seven sets and twenty-one kinds to explain the wisdoms, the meaning of the various different statements in scriptures and treatises would be very difficult to clarify. For example, when the Avataṃsaka explains the mind of the first abode, the wording recorded by this treatise is that “buddhas of the three times do not know the wisdom of the first abode.” People interpret it as wisdom of suchness, saying that the Buddha cannot know the Buddha’s own wisdom of suchness and cannot know the wisdom of suchness of the first abode, believing this doctrinally coherent. It is in fact not appropriate.

If buddhas of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings do not discuss wisdom of suchness at all, how could they be said not to know their own wisdom of suchness? If the first abode of the Distinct Teaching has not yet attained wisdom of suchness, how could a buddha be said not to know it? If the levels of wisdom explained above are understood, the passage can be read as saying that buddhas of the Tripiṭaka Teaching in the three times do not know the wisdom of the first abode in the Perfect Teaching. Explained in this way, it presents no obstruction in either phenomena or principle. This passage has two levels of meaning: first distinguishing twenty-one kinds of provisional and real wisdom, and second speaking of subtlety in relation to the coarse.

When the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous, all skillful truths interfuse into wondrous truths, and the wisdoms established according to those truths are no longer coarse. It resembles a lowly person’s poor dwelling becoming dignified when a king passes and the various streams entering the sea and sharing one salty flavor. Opening every coarse wisdom makes it immediately wondrous wisdom.

The two wisdoms have a broad range and should be understood throughout by analogy with their classes. Here twenty-one kinds of provisional and real wisdom are established in relation to seven kinds of Two Truths as chapter divisions. Once this meaning is understood, the twelve-link objects should be treated similarly: one can establish analytical wisdom of dependent origination, wisdom embodying dependent origination, wisdom of dependent origination containing the Middle, wisdom of dependent origination revealing the Middle, sequential wisdom of dependent origination, wisdom of dependent origination carrying sequence, and non-sequential wisdom of dependent origination. Each has three kinds—transforming others, one’s own practice together with transforming others, and one’s own practice—making twenty-one. Coarse and wondrous can again be distinguished, the number in each of the Five Flavors judged, and relational and absolute discussed. The Four Truths, Three Truths, and one truth can all be inferred in the same way and need not each be recorded in detail.

Question: Why are the truths established according to sentient beings’ dispositions and the wisdoms that transform others immeasurable, while the truths seen according to wisdom and the wisdoms of one’s own practice are not many?

Answer: Consider only a single person who has not yet attained the path: the mind of views arises horizontally, producing endless wrong attachments. How much more is this true when many people differ in many ways? Teaching according to dispositions is therefore immeasurable. What wisdom sees is principle, and principle is one and does not diverge within itself. Differences in the Two Truths have already been explained.

Are the seven sets and twenty-one kinds of provisional and real wisdom taught here adopted from worldly attachments and views? Do they reuse worldly phrases? Do they copy meanings established by various treatises? None of these. They do not follow worldly people or existing writings and commentaries but are explained by investigating Great and Small Vehicle scriptures. Whether breaking or establishing, they clarify the purport of the Lotus.

When skillful and awkward are compared, the two wisdoms in Shared-Teaching scriptures are used to break those in Tripiṭaka scriptures. This continues until sequential and non-sequential are compared, when the Perfect Teaching’s two wisdoms break those of the Distinct Teaching. Since the wisdoms clarified by expedient scriptures are coarse, how could treatises interpreting those expedient scriptures instead become wondrous? Scriptures and treatises have their own levels, and those who promote them need not attack one another. One need only allow each to speak; the level into which it falls will reveal itself.

An explanation of provisional and real through arising and ceasing falls only into the first set. An explanation through non-arising and non-ceasing falls only into the second, and one can continue distinguishing in this way through the seventh. Even if scriptures and treatises are cited extensively to adorn one’s teaching, it may still fail to go beyond the first set’s Two Truths according to dispositions and provisional and real wisdom for transforming others, still less the second and third kinds of provisional and real wisdom in that first set. If it may not escape even the first set’s three kinds, how much less the seventh set’s three?

If only the first set of two wisdoms is used, one can broadly break worldly affective attachments, yet even on entering the conjured city one attains only the real wisdom of one’s own practice, not the provisional wisdom of transforming others. How much less can one attain the wisdoms of the later sets? If one can truly trace the twenty-one kinds of two wisdoms, one should examine how many non-Buddhist views they break, how many provisional scriptures and treatises they break, how many correct meanings they reveal, and how many provisional scriptures and treatises they establish. Only then can they be called wondrous provisionality and wondrous reality.

Worldly people do not recognize the meaning of even one or two kinds of provisional and real wisdom but directly take the calculations of their affective views as wisdom. If it is truly wisdom, which delusions has it broken and which principles has it seen? If it has neither seen principle nor broken delusion and birth and death still rolls on without limit, what can it be but an affective view?

Clarifying wondrous wisdom in relation to the preceding coarse wisdoms is the Lotus’s intent of breaking relationality. If one can integrate and enter, the truths clarified by all provisional scriptures and treatises become wondrous principle and no place is other than the ground of wisdom; the two wisdoms clarified by all provisional scriptures and treatises become wondrous wisdom and all are great carriages. Breaking and integration of such depth and breadth cannot be compared simplistically with the Treatise on the Middle. This should be pondered well.

Five Kinds of Three Wisdoms

Fourth, wisdom is explained in relation to the object of the Three Truths. Five kinds of Three Truths were explained above and will now be distinguished further.

When the three wisdoms illuminate the ten Dharma realms, the ten realms are first gathered into three classes: contaminated, uncontaminated, and neither contaminated nor uncontaminated. These three Dharmas enter one another in five different ways. First, neither contaminated nor uncontaminated is included in the uncontaminated, which then forms three Dharmas together with contaminated and uncontaminated. Second, all Dharmas are included in the uncontaminated, which then forms three together with contaminated and uncontaminated. Third, contaminated, uncontaminated, and neither contaminated nor uncontaminated are each separately established. Fourth, all Dharmas converge upon neither contaminated nor uncontaminated, which then forms three together with contaminated and uncontaminated. Fifth, all Dharmas simultaneously converge upon contaminated, uncontaminated, and neither contaminated nor uncontaminated.

After the five kinds of Three-Truth object are explained, five kinds of three wisdoms are correlated with them. Omniscience, wisdom of the varieties of the path, and the knowledge of all modes have five modes of mutual entry: first, Middle wisdom enters empty wisdom and then forms three with wisdom of the varieties of the path; second, tathāgatagarbha wisdom enters empty wisdom and then forms three with wisdom of the varieties of the path; third, Middle wisdom and the other two wisdoms separately face one another as three; fourth, tathāgatagarbha wisdom enters Middle wisdom and then forms three with the other two; fifth, the three wisdoms perfectly interfuse. These are the five differences.

First, Middle wisdom enters empty wisdom. Omniscience first arises in dependence upon an uncontaminated object; wisdom of the varieties of the path next arises in dependence upon a contaminated object; finally one deeply contemplates the emptiness of the uncontaminated, knows that emptiness too is empty, and produces the knowledge of all modes. At the initial mind one does not yet know that emptiness is empty. Next, although emptiness is attained, one cannot yet empty this emptiness. Finally, by deeply contemplating emptiness, one also empties the preceding emptiness. The two emptinesses have the same name and the two objects combine, so this is called mutual entry.

Distinguished separately, uncontaminated emptiness is omniscience, contaminated emptiness is wisdom of the varieties of the path, and Middle-Way emptiness is the knowledge of all modes. Taking the meaning from scriptures and treatises, people say that at the sixth ground the severance of delusion equals that of an arhat, at the seventh one cultivates the path of skillful means, and at the eighth path and contemplation flow together and one breaks ignorance and becomes a buddha. This is precisely the meaning of this level.

Second, tathāgatagarbha wisdom enters empty wisdom. Omniscience and wisdom of the varieties of the path arise in dependence upon contaminated and uncontaminated objects as in the preceding kind. Later, however, one does not condition another object and cultivate Middle wisdom separately; one need only contemplate emptiness deeply to see nonemptiness, and nonemptiness is the tathāgatagarbha. Because tathāgatagarbha and emptiness combine, this is called mutual entry. By deeply contemplating emptiness and seeing nonemptiness, one produces the knowledge of all modes.

In the preceding kind, Middle wisdom reveals only an isolated principle, and neither principle nor wisdom possesses all Dharmas. Here, tathāgatagarbha principle and tathāgatagarbha wisdom possess all Dharmas and are therefore different. Tathāgatagarbha wisdom forms three wisdoms together with the preceding two. The wording recorded from the Great Scripture says that śrāvakas see only emptiness and do not see nonemptiness, while the wise see both emptiness and nonemptiness. The wording recorded from Great Prajñā says that omniscience is śrāvaka wisdom, wisdom of the varieties of the path bodhisattva wisdom, and the knowledge of all modes Buddha wisdom. All can clarify this meaning.

Third, Middle wisdom and the other two wisdoms separately face one another. Each wisdom conditions its own object and gives rise to its own wisdom, sequentially deeper and shallower, without being mixed into the others. The Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra therefore records that a bodhisattva at the lineage stage arouses the mind wishing to remove the two obstructions and, whether or not a buddha is present, can certainly sever the afflictions in sequence. This directly clarifies the present meaning.

Fourth, tathāgatagarbha wisdom enters Middle wisdom. The first two wisdoms are the same as above, while the knowledge of all modes differs slightly. In the preceding kind, the Middle object was an isolated Middle principle. To reveal this principle one had to cultivate the myriad practices, so the wisdom revealing principle was called the knowledge of all modes. Now tathāgatagarbha principle originally contains all Dharmas, so this is not merely a wisdom that reveals an isolated principle. It is therefore also called the knowledge of all modes, yet differs from the preceding kind. Forming three wisdoms by placing this wisdom with the preceding two gives the present three.

The Masters of the Grounds’ teaching that conditioned cultivation reveals true cultivation and that when true cultivation arises conditioned cultivation is no longer needed expresses this level. The first two wisdoms are conditioned cultivation; the later wisdom when it arises is true cultivation. True cultivation itself possesses all Dharmas and need not borrow any other Dharma.

Fifth are the perfectly interfused three wisdoms. Contaminated Dharma is itself Dharma arisen from causes and conditions and is immediately empty, immediately provisional, and immediately the Middle. Uncontaminated Dharma is likewise immediately provisional and immediately the Middle. Neither contaminated nor uncontaminated is likewise immediately empty and immediately provisional. One Dharma is the three Dharmas, and the three Dharmas are one Dharma. One wisdom is the three wisdoms, and the three wisdoms are one wisdom. Wisdom is itself object, and object is itself wisdom, perfectly interfused, penetrative, and unobstructed. How could such three wisdoms be the same as the preceding four kinds?

The wording recorded from the Explanatory Treatise, “the three wisdoms are attained in one mind,” says there is no before and after. The names of three wisdoms are established only to explain them to people and make them easy to understand.

For wisdom actually to manifest, it must be accomplished through contemplative practice. In general explanation, both contemplation and wisdom extend through cause and result. When distinguished, contemplation is cause and wisdom result. This resembles buddha-nature extending through cause and result, while in distinct explanation the cause is called buddha-nature and the result nirvāṇa. According to the distinct meaning here, contemplation is cause and accomplishes wisdom as result.

The wording recorded from the Yingluo says that entering emptiness from the provisional is called contemplation of the Two Truths, entering the provisional from emptiness is called equal contemplation, and these two contemplations are the path of skillful means through which one enters contemplation of the Middle Way’s ultimate truth. Taking contemplation entering emptiness from the provisional as cause, the result attained is called omniscience. Taking contemplation entering the provisional from emptiness as cause, the result attained is called wisdom of the varieties of the path. Taking contemplation of the Middle as cause, the result attained is called the knowledge of all modes.

Wisdom has above been divided briefly into five kinds. According to contemplation accomplishing wisdom, there should likewise be five kinds, whose details can be inferred. The detailed meaning of cultivating contemplation should be read together with the Mohe Zhiguan.

In judging coarse and wondrous, although the two Buddha stations of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings bear the name “the knowledge of all modes,” they have no separate Middle principle and break no separate class of delusion. This wisdom is therefore not established and is not adopted here. Although Middle wisdom entering empty wisdom speaks of the Middle Way as cause, it accomplishes the first two wisdoms through the Shared gate, and the Middle Way it later illuminates has no vast function. Because the cause proceeds through a more awkward teaching and the result does not interfuse, it is coarse.

In tathāgatagarbha wisdom entering empty wisdom, teaching, result, and principle interfuse, but the cause still proceeds through the Shared gate, so it is coarse. In Middle wisdom separately facing the other two, although it does not proceed through the Shared gate, the three wisdoms remain separated and the result and teaching have not interfused, so it is coarse. In tathāgatagarbha wisdom entering Middle wisdom, the result interfuses but the cause proceeds through the Distinct gate, so its cause remains coarse. Only in the perfectly interfused three wisdoms are cause perfect, result perfect, cause wondrous, result wondrous, truth wondrous, and wisdom wondrous. Directly abandoning skillful means and teaching only the unsurpassed path, this is wondrous wisdom.

Across the Five Flavors, the milk teaching has three kinds of three wisdoms, the curds teaching one, raw ghee all five, and refined ghee also all five. Their coarse and wondrous can be understood from the preceding meaning. The Lotus has only one kind of three wisdoms. This is the present scripture’s breaking of the preceding and belongs to relational wondrousness.

In opening the coarse to clarify the wondrous, even worldly wisdom, originally devoid of world-transcending Dharma of the path, can enter right characteristics through wrong characteristics. Livelihood and productive work do not contradict the true mark; after opening and revealing, lowering the head and raising a hand all become the Buddha path. How much more is this true of the world-transcending wisdoms of the Three Vehicles? The Great Scripture records that śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are both real and false: real because they have severed afflictions, false because they do not permanently abide. Ordinary beings have not severed afflictions and possess only falsity without reality, yet even they can open the coarse, enter the wondrous, and accomplish the Great Vehicle. How much more can the wisdom of the Two Vehicles? Even those of the Two Vehicles described as ruined in faculties and dead in mind can return to life. How much more can wisdom of the varieties of the path?

When opening occurs in this way, everything is wondrous and nothing is other than the true mark. Great carriages of seven treasures are immeasurable in number. This is the Lotus’s intent of integration and entry and belongs to absolute wondrousness.

Wisdom of Suchness and No-Truth, No-Teaching

Fifth, wisdom in relation to one truth is wisdom of suchness. The wording recorded from the Explanatory Treatise says that all waters entering the sea share one salty flavor, and all wisdoms entering wisdom of suchness lose their original names. From this it can be known that wisdom of suchness comprehensively includes every wisdom and illuminates only one object, just as all currents of water become the one flavor of the sea.

Taking the ten wisdoms as coarse and wisdom of suchness as wondrous is the first level of relationality. Taking the various real wisdoms as coarse and Middle-Way wisdom of suchness as wondrous is the second. When the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous, not only do the various real wisdoms become wondrous; the ten wisdoms are also all called wondrous.

Since no-truth and no-teaching speak of no truth, there is likewise no wisdom. If no-truth is distinguished throughout the various places, no-truth and no-wisdom in other skillful means are coarse, while no-truth and no-wisdom of the Middle Way are wondrous. If one truly closes the mouth and cuts off words in speaking of no-truth and no-wisdom, there is neither coarse nor wondrous and neither relational nor absolute. Throughout all Dharmas, all are without coarse or wondrous.

9. Six Sets of Wisdom Successively Illuminate One Another

The second great gate is successive mutual illumination. Six sets of wisdom successively turn to illuminate the preceding objects.

First, the four kinds of wisdom concerning the twelve links turn to illuminate the ten Dharma realms. Lower and middle wisdom illuminate the suchnesses of nature, characteristic, and the rest in the six paths. Lower and middle wisdom contemplating cessation of the twelve links illuminate the suchnesses of nature, characteristic, and the rest in the Two Vehicles. Upper wisdom illuminates the nature, characteristic, beginning and end, and the rest of the bodhisattva realm. Highest wisdom illuminates the nature, characteristic, beginning and end, and the rest of the Buddha Dharma realm.

Next, the four kinds of wisdom concerning the Four Truths illuminate the ten Dharma realms. Wisdom of suffering and origination in the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising sets illuminates the suchnesses of nature and characteristic in the six paths. Wisdom of path and cessation in the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising sets illuminates the suchnesses of nature and characteristic in the Two Vehicles. Wisdom of suffering and origination in the immeasurable and unconstructed sets illuminates the nature, characteristic, and the rest of the bodhisattva realm. Wisdom of path and cessation in the immeasurable and unconstructed sets illuminates the nature, characteristic, beginning and end, and the rest of the Buddha Dharma realm.

The four kinds of wisdom concerning the Four Truths also illuminate the four kinds of twelve links. Wisdom of suffering and origination in the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising sets illuminates the two conceivable kinds of twelve links. Wisdom of path and cessation in those two sets illuminates cessation of the two conceivable kinds of twelve links. Wisdom of suffering and origination in the immeasurable and unconstructed sets illuminates the two inconceivable kinds of twelve links. Wisdom of path and cessation in those two sets illuminates cessation of the two inconceivable kinds of twelve links.

Next, the seven kinds of two wisdoms illuminate the ten Dharma realms. The two provisional wisdoms of arising and ceasing and non-arising and non-ceasing, together with the two kinds entering the Shared, make four provisional wisdoms that illuminate nature and characteristic in the six paths. The two real wisdoms of arising and ceasing and non-arising and non-ceasing illuminate nature and characteristic in the Two Vehicles.

The provisional wisdom of the Distinct Teaching and the provisional wisdom of the Perfect entering the Distinct illuminate, on their bounded side, nature and characteristic in the six paths and, on their boundless side, nature and characteristic in the Two Vehicles. The provisional wisdom of the Perfect Teaching generally illuminates nature and characteristic in the nine Dharma realms. The real wisdom of the Distinct entering the Shared illuminates, on its empty side, nature and characteristic in the Two Vehicles and, on its nonempty side, nature and characteristic in the bodhisattva realm. The real wisdom of the Perfect entering the Shared illuminates, on its empty side, nature and characteristic in the Two Vehicles and, on its nonempty side, nature and characteristic in the Buddha realm. The real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching illuminates nature and characteristic in the bodhisattva realm. The real wisdom of the Perfect entering the Distinct and the real wisdom of the Perfect Teaching both illuminate nature and characteristic in the Buddha Dharma realm.

The seven kinds of two wisdoms also illuminate the four kinds of twelve links. The first four provisional wisdoms illuminate the two conceivable kinds of twelve links. The provisional wisdom of the Distinct Teaching and that of the Perfect entering the Distinct illuminate, on their bounded side, the two conceivable kinds of twelve links and, on their boundless side, cessation of those two kinds. The provisional wisdom of the Perfect Teaching can illuminate them generally.

The real wisdom of the Distinct entering the Shared illuminates, on its empty side, cessation of the conceivable twelve links and, on its nonempty side, the inconceivable twelve links. The real wisdom of the Perfect entering the Shared is the same on its empty side, while its nonempty side illuminates cessation of the inconceivable twelve links. The real wisdom of the Distinct Teaching illuminates cessation of the two inconceivable kinds of twelve links. The real wisdom of the Perfect Teaching illuminates cessation of the two inconceivable kinds of twelve links, and so forth.

If they turn again to illuminate the Four Truths, the first four provisional wisdoms illuminate suffering and origination in the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising sets; the latter three provisional wisdoms illuminate suffering and origination in the immeasurable and unconstructed sets. The first two real wisdoms illuminate path and cessation in the two conceivable sets; the latter five real wisdoms illuminate path and cessation in the two inconceivable sets.

When the five kinds of three wisdoms illuminate the ten Dharma realms, the five kinds of wisdom of the varieties of the path illuminate nature, characteristic, beginning and end, and the rest in the six paths. The five kinds of omniscience illuminate nature, characteristic, beginning and end, and the rest in the Two Vehicles and bodhisattva realm. The five forms of the knowledge of all modes illuminate the Buddha Dharma realm’s ten suchnesses of nature, characteristic, and the rest.

When the five kinds of three wisdoms illuminate the four kinds of twelve links, the five kinds of wisdom concerning existence illuminate the two conceivable kinds of twelve links. The five kinds of omniscience illuminate cessation of the two conceivable kinds of twelve links and also illuminate the inconceivable twelve links. The five forms of the knowledge of all modes illuminate cessation of the two inconceivable kinds of twelve links.

When the five kinds of three wisdoms illuminate the four kinds of Four Truths, the five kinds of wisdom of the varieties of the path illuminate suffering and origination in the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising sets. The five kinds of omniscience illuminate path and cessation in the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising sets and also illuminate suffering and origination in the immeasurable and unconstructed sets. The five forms of the knowledge of all modes illuminate path and cessation in the immeasurable and unconstructed sets.

When the five kinds of three wisdoms illuminate the seven kinds of Two Truths, the five kinds of wisdom of the varieties of the path illuminate four kinds of conventional truth. The five kinds of omniscience illuminate two kinds of true truth and also the three conventional truths of the Distinct Teaching, the Perfect entering the Distinct, and the Perfect Teaching. The five forms of the knowledge of all modes illuminate five kinds of true truth.

The one wisdom of suchness simultaneously illuminates the nature and characteristic of the Buddha realm’s ten suchnesses, the inconceivable twelve links, the unconstructed Four Truths, five kinds of true truth, and five kinds of the Middle Way’s ultimate truth.

No-truth and no-teaching accord with characteristic, nature, and suchness among the ten suchnesses; with cessation of the inconceivable twelve links; with the four kinds of non-arising-non-arising; with the wordlessness of true truth; and with the Middle Way that is neither birth and death nor nirvāṇa.

The various wisdoms above successively illuminate the truths level by level. If the truths interfuse, wisdom interfuses. When wisdom and truth interfuse together, it is called wondrous. Yet to call it wondrous or not wondrous remains an expedient teaching. On genuinely seeing principle, provisional and real are no longer present; it is neither provisional nor real and has neither wondrous nor not wondrous. Only for this reason is it called wondrous.

Since the seven kinds of Two Truths and five kinds of Three Truths can enter one another, all the other objects likewise possess this meaning. Since the seven kinds of two wisdoms and five kinds of three wisdoms can enter one another, all the other wisdoms can similarly enter one another and can be inferred according to the preceding examples.

Section One · The Framework of Wondrous Practice: How Advance Becomes Wondrous Practice

Third is the subtlety of practice. It has two parts: first, practices are explained in general through increasing numbers; second, practices are explained through increasing numbers according to the different teaching gates.

“Practice” means advancing toward a destination. Without wisdom, practice cannot advance. Although the understanding of wisdom can guide practice, wisdom cannot be right without a right object. Wisdom is like the eye and practice like the foot; only with both eye and foot can one reach the cool pool. Understanding is the root of practice, while practice in turn brings wisdom to completion. Thus, when practice is complete, wisdom is complete. Wisdom makes principle manifest; when principle is exhausted, the activity of wisdom also comes to rest.

Yet merely saying that object, wisdom, and practice depend on one another still does not constitute wondrous practice. Wondrous practice means that one practice fully contains all practices. The scripture says that practitioners originally followed innumerable buddhas and fully practiced all paths. It also says that in the presence of immeasurable buddhas they practiced a profound and wondrous path, and that they completely practiced every path-dharma possessed by the buddhas. They are complete, deep, and exhaustive: complete means broad, deep means high-reaching, and exhaustive means ultimate.

This wondrous practice and the preceding subtleties of objects and wisdom speak of three from one and one from three. The subtlety of objects explained the marks of dharmas as they truly are; these marks fully possess the three virtues and are called the secret treasury. The subtlety of wisdom explained understanding of the marks of dharmas as they truly are; this understanding also fully possesses the three virtues, like three eyes on one face. The present subtlety of practice is what one actually performs, practicing in accord with what has been taught; this practice also fully possesses the three virtues, like the three dots of the siddham letter i. Whether three are spoken from one or one from three, nothing is lacking or diminished. It is therefore called wondrous practice.

Previously wisdom was explained in relation to objects; now practice should likewise be explained in relation to wisdom. If practices are explained through increasing numbers in relation to even one kind of wisdom, they are already as numerous as dust and cannot be exhausted in speech. How much more when each kind of wisdom guides many practices: their breadth is then like empty space. Once the meaning is grasped, words may be forgotten; there is no need to state every practice one by one.

The meaning of the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom is that when a bodhisattva practices prajñā, one dharma may serve as a practice that encompasses all practices, and immeasurably many instances of that one dharma may also serve as practices encompassing all practices. Two dharmas may encompass all practices, as may immeasurably many instances of two dharmas. This continues through ten, a hundred, and thousands of myriads of millions of dharmas, and through immeasurably many instances of ten, a hundred, and thousands of myriads of millions of dharmas, all serving as practices that encompass all practices.

Although practices are exceedingly numerous, wisdom is their root. Wisdom is like the master who guides the way, and the many practices like a company of merchants. Wisdom is like a sharp needle, and practice like a long thread. When wisdom drives the ox of practice, the cart is secure and can reach its destination. These practices of increasing number are guided by the wisdom of the truth of the ten suchnesses explained above, all the way through the wisdom of the one real truth. Grasping this meaning, one knows to guide every practice with right wisdom so that it enters the right object. The meaning can only be understood from afar; it cannot all be set down in writing.

Section Two · Increasing Numbers According to the Teachings: From One Practice to Inexpressible Practices

First come the Tripiṭaka Teaching’s practices of increasing number. In the Āgamas, the Buddha tells the monks that they should cultivate one practice, guaranteeing that they can realize the four fruits of śramaṇas. This one practice is vigilance of mind. If they guard the mind and cultivate vigilance, causing it to develop and spread widely, what must be done will be completed and nirvāṇa can be attained.

The Buddha also tells a monk that he should cultivate one practice: do not take what belongs to another. The monk replies that he already understands. When the Buddha asks how he understands, the monk answers that “what belongs to another” means forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas. The Buddha praises him. If these six are not taken, what must be done will be completed and nirvāṇa can be attained. To develop and spread it widely means to pass through all dharmas with a vigilant mind, remaining vigilant throughout the three realms and the six sense objects, and thereby reaching nirvāṇa.

Next, the number is increased to two in explaining practice. An Āgama says that a monk dwelling in an araṇya should cultivate two dharmas as practices: calm and insight. When cultivating calm, he can stop all evil; his disciplinary deportment and various prohibitions remain undamaged, and many qualities are accomplished. When cultivating insight, he contemplates suffering and knows suffering as it truly is. He similarly knows the arising of suffering, the exhaustion of suffering, and the essential path out of suffering. His contaminants are thereby ended and he receives no further existence. The Tathāgata cultivated in this way as well.

Next, the number is increased to three: discipline, concentration, and wisdom. These three are the stairway beyond the world and the standard of the Buddha-Dharma. The “Discipline Scripture” says: do no evil, undertake every good, and purify one’s own mind—this is the teaching of the buddhas. “Every evil” means offenses committed through the seven bodily and verbal branches, including distinctions of gravity and whether an offense has occurred; their marks are broadly explained in the five vinayas. Discipline prevents all such evils. “Every good” means wholesome bodily, verbal, and mental action. Whether the mind is scattered or still, the preceding and subsequent skillful means and the qualities of each factor and grove can all ascend in purity and are therefore called good. “Purify one’s own mind” means breaking wrong views and inversions, understanding worldly and world-transcending cause and effect and primary and auxiliary gates of practice, removing mental defilements, and washing away blemishes. This does not go beyond wisdom. The Buddha-Dharma is like a vast ocean, and discipline, concentration, and wisdom can encompass it completely.

If this meaning is understood, the same applies when four, five, six, or seven dharmas, all the way through hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of dharmas, serve as practices encompassing all practices. These are called practices guided by lower wisdom.

Increasing Numbers in the Shared Teaching

The Shared Teaching’s increasing practices are not fixed as Shared Teaching on the authority of one particular scripture. They take only Dharma gates cultivated in common by the three vehicles and designate them shared. Here the increasing numbers of the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom are provisionally cited to reveal their form. The treatise says that when a bodhisattva practices prajñā, although knowing that dharmas share the one mark, the bodhisattva can also know all their various different marks; and although knowing their various different marks, the bodhisattva can also know that all dharmas share the one mark.

How does one contemplate all dharmas as sharing the one mark? One contemplates that all dharmas lack fixed marks. Consider the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—which are never separate from one another. Earth also contains water, fire, and wind; it is named earth only because the earth component predominates. The same applies to water, fire, and wind.

Now contemplate that fire has no three other distinct marks within it. If the other three elements truly existed within fire, all three should become hot. If they exist in fire but water and wind are not hot, the whole cannot be called fire. If all three are hot, they have abandoned their own natures and are all called fire, leaving no three other elements. Suppose it is said that the other three truly exist but are too subtle to be known. How does that differ from their absence? Only if coarse marks could be obtained could the subtle be known from the coarse. Since coarse marks cannot be obtained, neither can subtle marks. Thus no fixed marks of the elements can be obtained within fire, and no fixed marks of any dharma can be obtained. All dharmas therefore share the one mark.

First the one mark breaks the various different marks, and then no-mark breaks the one mark. No-mark itself must also be extinguished, like fire and wood burning all the fuel and finally burning themselves away. This is called contemplating all dharmas as the one mark, while the one mark itself is no-mark. The immeasurable totality of dharmas also shares the one mark, and the one mark is again no-mark. Two dharmas may likewise serve as practices encompassing all practices, continuing through a hundred and thousands of myriads of millions of dharmas. The rest can be inferred from this meaning and is not recorded at length.

Increasing Numbers in the Distinct Teaching

The Distinct Teaching’s practices of increasing number are like Sudhana entering the Dharma realm and hearing one dharma as a practice at the seat of each spiritual adviser in turn. Sometimes it is an illusion-like samādhi, sometimes leaping from a cliff and entering a mass of fire, sometimes counting grains of sand and reading bodily marks, and sometimes arousing bodhicitta. For each different one-practice, the spiritual adviser says: the Buddha-Dharma is like an ocean; I know only this one Dharma gate, and the rest are not what I know. This continues through one hundred and ten spiritual advisers, each with a Dharma gate of this kind. Every practice can break fundamental ignorance and enter a profound and wondrous object. The same pattern should be inferred for practices of two, three, or hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of dharmas.

Increasing Numbers in the Perfect Teaching

The Perfect Teaching’s increasing practices are like the one-practice samādhi cultivated by bodhisattvas as explained in the “Mañjuśrī Questions Scripture.” One should sit cross-legged in a quiet chamber, bind one’s object to the Dharma realm, and take each thought as the Dharma realm. Every inversion of fundamental ignorance remains forever quiescent like empty space. This one practice belongs to all unobstructed persons; one road leaves birth and death; one enters every dharma through impartial contemplation; the mind of understanding and wisdom is quiescent, with none comparable throughout the three realms. This is one practice encompassing all practices.

Increasing the number to two dharmas serving as practices that encompass all practices gives calm and insight. Increasing to three gives hearing, reflection, and cultivation, as well as discipline, concentration, and wisdom. Four gives the four applications of mindfulness. Five gives the five gates of dhyāna. Six gives the six perfections. Seven gives the seven wholesome dharmas. Eight gives the eightfold path. Nine gives the nine great dhyānas. Ten gives the ten objects or the ten contemplations forming the vehicle. How could practices of a hundred, thousands of myriads of millions, incalculable, and inexpressible Dharma gates all be recorded? Once the meaning is grasped, the rest can be understood by analogy.

Judging the Coarse and Wondrous, Relating to the Coarse, and Opening the Coarse

Although all explain practice through increasing numbers, practices in the different teaching gates must still be judged as coarse or wondrous. The Tripiṭaka Teaching’s increasing practices are guided by the wisdom of arising and ceasing, seek only escape from suffering, and finally come to rest in the conjured city; they are therefore coarse. The Shared Teaching’s wisdom embodying dharmas is ingenious, but it still guides only beyond suffering and has the same destination as reducing the body to ashes and cutting off wisdom. The Distinct Teaching’s wisdom guides practitioners very far, step by step from the shallow into the deep, but its practices remain mutually separate and concrete practice and principle have not yet perfectly interfused; it too is coarse. In the Perfect Teaching’s increasing practices, every practice interfuses with every other and wisdom is complete; they are therefore wondrous.

The present scripture belongs to the Perfect Teaching’s increasing numbers. The “Contemplation Scripture” says that during three periods of seven days one advances diligently with one mind; this explains wondrous practice through one dharma. It also says that whether walking or sitting one contemplates this scripture; this explains wondrous practice through two dharmas. It says further that one who hears this scripture, contemplates and cultivates it, practices the bodhisattva path well; this explains wondrous practice through three dharmas. The four Practices of Ease explain it through four; disciples of the five grades through five; and purification of the six faculties through six. All of these speak of the wondrous in relation to the preceding coarse practices.

Next the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous. Lowering one’s head, raising a hand, piling earth, or playing with sand can all accomplish the buddha path. Although various dharmas are taught, in reality they are for the One Vehicle. Every practice becomes wondrous, leaving no fixed coarse to serve as contrast. Once the coarse has been opened, relational wondrousness immediately becomes absolute.

Section Three · The Number Five: First the Sequential Five Practices, Then the Perfect Five

Explaining wondrous practice through the number five also has two parts: first the distinct and sequential five practices, and then the perfectly interfused five practices.

The Nirvāṇa Sūtra teaches five practices: noble practice, brahmā practice, heavenly practice, infant practice, and illness practice. Noble practice in turn has discipline, concentration, and wisdom.

Section Four · Noble Practice in Discipline: Faith Establishes Vows, and Vows Establish Discipline

The scripture says that if a bodhisattva hears of great nirvāṇa and gives rise to faith after hearing, the bodhisattva thinks: the buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, possess the unsurpassed path, the great right Dharma, and the great assembly’s right practice. Practice is established from here.

Hearing of great nirvāṇa means faith in the fruit and also in the truth of cessation. “Possessing the unsurpassed path” and the words that follow mean faith in practices capable of revealing the fruit. The unsurpassed path is faith in wisdom; the great right Dharma is faith in concentration; the great assembly’s right practice is faith in discipline. This is faith in the cause and in the path.

The bodhisattva further grieves that self and all sentient beings have broken discipline, committed offenses, and lost the happiness of humans and gods and the happiness of nirvāṇa. This is knowing arising. Their wandering through birth and death and receiving the results of bad destinies is knowing suffering. Suffering and arising oppose discipline, concentration, and wisdom, and therefore there is no path. Without the path nirvāṇa cannot be attained, and therefore there is no cessation.

Wishing to remove suffering and arising, the bodhisattva arouses great compassion and makes two vows. Wishing to give sentient beings the happiness of path and cessation, the bodhisattva arouses great kindness and makes two more vows. Vows are followed by actual practice. The bodhisattva reflects that home life is confining like a prison and prevents pure cultivation of brahmā practice for a whole lifetime, while renunciation is quiet and broad like empty space. The bodhisattva therefore leaves home and desire, receives discipline through the motion with a fourth announcement, and equally guards the intrinsically grave precepts and the precepts that prevent worldly censure. The rākṣasas of craving and views are not allowed to damage the flotation bladder of discipline. The details are as explained in the Mohe Zhiguan.

Through keeping discipline, the bodhisattva possesses five branches: the discipline of purity in fundamental actions; residual purity in the preceding and following retinues; purity in awareness that is not awareness of evil; purity in mindfulness that guards right mindfulness; and discipline dedicated toward complete attainment of the unsurpassed path.

The discipline of purity in fundamental actions takes the natural discipline of the ten wholesome acts as the root of all discipline and is guarded with an uncontaminated mind; it is therefore called pure. In residual purity in the preceding and following retinues, sthūlātyaya and the like are preceding retinues, and the thirteen and the like are following retinues. “Residual” means precepts not listed in the vinaya but separately established in other scriptures, such as the twenty-four precepts in the vaipulya teachings. These first two branches are received through vinaya procedures. The final three are not received through a procedure but arise naturally when the corresponding dharmas are attained.

Purity in awareness that is not awareness of evil is discipline co-arisen with concentration. If śīla is impure, samādhi cannot appear. When discipline is pure, concrete obstructions are removed and future dhyāna can arise; intrinsic obstructions are removed and fundamental dhyāna can arise. When evil initial and sustained thoughts are extinguished, this is called discipline co-arisen with concentration.

Purity in mindfulness that guards right mindfulness is the four applications of mindfulness. One contemplates principle with right mindfulness. Although real realization has not yet arisen, resembling right mindfulness can give rise to the real path and accomplish discipline co-arisen with the path. It is therefore called purity in mindfulness that guards right mindfulness.

A further distinction may be made. Discipline co-arisen with concentration arises in dependence on a concentrated mind and belongs to the good of stopping. Discipline co-arisen with the path arises in dependence on discerning wisdom and belongs to the good of practice. The movement of the constructed and the immovability of the non-constructed both belong to vinaya. Why? Discipline means prevention. Once the mind co-arisen with concentration is attained, evil no longer arises; once the path-born gives rise to the real, offenses never arise again. Both are therefore called discipline.

Discipline dedicated toward complete attainment of the unsurpassed path means that within every precept the bodhisattva possesses the four universal vows and six perfections, arouses a firm and essential vow, and dedicates the merit to awakening. It is therefore called Great Vehicle discipline. The four universal vows are as explained above.

In terms of the six perfections, becoming weary of home life and relinquishing what one loves is giving. Not violating even the slightest point and refusing the rākṣasas’ demand for the flotation bladder is discipline. Restraining body and mind and patiently enduring blows and abuse is patience toward beings. Enduring the eight winds, cold and heat, desire and anger, and the others is patience toward dharmas. When craving and views cannot damage one, that is forbearance. Guarding discipline so that a mind wishing to violate it does not arise is diligence. Resolving to keep discipline, not being deceived by doubt, and remaining single-minded and unmoving is concentration. Clearly discerning cause and effect, knowing discipline to be the root that correctly accords with liberation and gives birth to the saints of all three vehicles rather than the chicken and dog disciplines among the sixty-two wrong views, is prajñā.

The bodhisattva makes additional vows to restrain the mind: rather than break discipline and accept another person’s bedding, the bodhisattva would let the body lie on a scorching iron bed. Twelve vows are used to restrain the mind.

Further vows are made that all sentient beings may attain prohibitive, pure, wholesome, unbroken, unanalyzed, Great Vehicle, nonretrogressive, conforming, ultimate, and pāramitā-complete discipline. These ten vows protect sentient beings. Within the single mind of keeping discipline, the bodhisattva adorns discipline with many vows and practices. Every other mind of practice should be the same.

The ten precepts that protect others unfold from the five branches one practices oneself. Prohibitive, pure, and wholesome discipline unfold from the fundamental and retinue branches. Rules established through the procedures governing sections and categories are prohibitive discipline. Only when prohibitive discipline gives rise to the non-constructed substance of discipline is it called pure; purity is the good of stopping. Wholesome discipline is the good of practice.

Unbroken discipline unfolds from purity in awareness that is not awareness of evil. Even while guarding the seven bodily and verbal branches, if deluded thoughts repeatedly arise, practice still has gaps. When future dhyāna arises, concrete practice is unbroken; when fundamental dhyāna is attained, intrinsic practice is unbroken.

Unanalyzed discipline unfolds from purity in mindfulness that guards right mindfulness and is discipline co-arisen with the path. Extinguishing form to enter emptiness is the path-born discipline that analyzes dharmas. Here one embodies dharmas to enter emptiness, and it is therefore called unanalyzed. It is also called unanalyzed because path-born discipline is already present within, making the aggregate of discipline firm and incapable of being broken apart.

Great Vehicle, nonretrogressive, conforming, ultimate, and pāramitā-complete discipline unfold from discipline dedicated toward complete attainment of the unsurpassed path.

Great Vehicle discipline means that a bodhisattva equally guards intrinsically grave precepts and those preventing worldly censure. In seeking the buddha path for oneself, intrinsically grave precepts are urgent; in transforming sentient beings, precepts preventing censure are also urgent. The Lesser Vehicle subdues only oneself, so intrinsically grave precepts are urgent; because liberating others is not its work, precepts preventing censure are more relaxed. A bodhisattva completely guards both and is therefore said to possess Great Vehicle discipline.

Nonretrogressive discipline means that even when following what ordinary people see as not the path, one possesses skillful means. One may enter brothels, taverns, and other unlawful places to liberate people, yet not regress from prohibitive discipline oneself, like a physician who treats disease without being contaminated by it. It is therefore called nonretrogressive.

Conforming discipline conforms both to the capacities of sentient beings and to principle. Ultimate discipline vertically exhausts the unsurpassed Dharma. Pāramitā-complete discipline horizontally perfects all things and lacks no dharma.

The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom also teaches ten kinds of discipline. Its unbroken, unviolated, unpierced, and unmixed disciplines correspond to the prohibitive, pure, wholesome, and unbroken disciplines under the fundamental branch of the Great Sutra. Its discipline conforming to the path corresponds to the unanalyzed discipline under the Great Sutra’s branch of guarding right mindfulness. Its unattached discipline corresponds to nonretrogressive discipline under the dedication branch. Its discipline praised by the wise corresponds to the Great Sutra’s Great Vehicle discipline. Its sovereign discipline corresponds to the Great Sutra’s sovereign discipline. Its discipline conforming to concentration corresponds to the Great Sutra’s conforming discipline. Its complete discipline corresponds to the Great Sutra’s pāramitā discipline. The Great Sutra says “ultimate,” while the Great Treatise says “conforming to concentration.” The two are generally alike with a slight difference; the meaning suffers no loss.

To clarify a bodhisattva’s sequential cultivation of noble practice, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra completely lists all disciplines from shallow to deep and from beginning to conclusion. If they are guarded well, one enters the first ground of immovability. Being immovable, nonretrogressive, not fallen, and undispersed is called noble practice in discipline.

Because noble practice in discipline advances from the shallow beginning to the deep conclusion, its coarse and wondrous aspects must now be judged. Prohibitive, pure, and wholesome discipline belong to the disciplinary code. Because the disciplinary code encompasses the community in common, it must establish rank, stage, and order. Although bodhisattvas and buddhas are present, no separate community is established for them; the discipline is therefore the same, distinguished only by whether the mind of buddhahood is aroused. Thus these three disciplinary-code precepts are encompassed by the Tripiṭaka Teaching. Unbroken discipline is discipline co-arisen with concentration, and fundamental dhyāna concerns concrete marks; it too is encompassed by the Tripiṭaka Teaching. These are therefore coarse.

Unanalyzed discipline is path-born discipline that embodies dharmas and is encompassed by the Shared Teaching. Great Vehicle, nonretrogressive, and the other disciplines are encompassed by the Distinct Teaching and also extend into the Shared Teaching. The Shared Teaching likewise emerges from emptiness to transform others, can accord with capacities and principle, and does not regress on the path. Yet it practices according to the real truth and still does not equal a practitioner of the Distinct Teaching. Relatively speaking, the Distinct Teaching is therefore wondrous.

Conforming, ultimate, complete, and the other disciplines are encompassed by the Perfect Teaching. Manifesting varied deportments without emerging from the concentration of cessation and manifesting the affairs of ordinary beings without abandoning the Dharma of the path is called conforming. Because only the Buddha fully possesses pure discipline while all others may still be called impure, it is called ultimate. Because discipline itself is the Dharma realm, fully possessing all buddha-dharmas and sentient-being dharmas and reaching the other shore of śīla, it is called pāramitā-complete discipline.

The meaning of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa is that only one who keeps discipline in this way is called an upholder of the vinaya and one who understands well. The Lotus Sūtra says that throughout the long night the assembly kept the Buddha’s pure discipline, long cultivated brahmā practice in the Dharma king’s Dharma, and only today gained its recompense. It also says that only the Buddha can know Rāhula’s hidden practice. Does this not reveal only perfect discipline as wondrous in relation to all the preceding disciplines as coarse? The initial discipline may also be likened to milk, the intermediate disciplines to the three middle flavors, and the final discipline to clarified essence. Clarified essence is wondrous.

Next the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous. Someone says that the Brahmā’s Net Sūtra contains bodhisattva discipline. The present response asks: what kind of bodhisattva discipline is this? If it belongs to bodhisattvas of the Tripiṭaka or Shared Teaching, there should be a separate bodhisattva community. Since no separate community has been established, how can their discipline differ? If there is a separate bodhisattva discipline, which kind is a separately established pratyekabuddha discipline? The three vehicles of the Tripiṭaka Teaching do not establish three separate communities, so separate bodhisattva and pratyekabuddha disciplines cannot be established. If understood in terms of bodhisattvas of the Distinct or Perfect Teaching, they can be established, because bodhisattvas exist outside the shared community of the three vehicles and therefore have a separate discipline.

Someone asks: if bodhisattva discipline exists outside the community of the three vehicles, what of pratyekabuddha discipline? The answer is that no separate pratyekabuddha is established outside the community of the three vehicles. This remains only a relational explanation of discipline in contrast with the coarse.

True opening of the coarse means that one who studies vinaya is a student of Great Vehicle training (śikṣā), and this training is the Great Vehicle’s light of ultimate meaning. The light of ultimate meaning is neither blue, yellow, red, nor white. The three refuges, five precepts, ten wholesome acts, and two hundred and fifty precepts are all the Great Vehicle. Where could a coarse discipline remain isolated outside wondrous discipline? Since discipline is immediately wondrous, the persons who receive and keep it are so as well. The scripture’s statement “you truly are my child” reveals precisely this meaning. This is called absolutely wondrous discipline.

Fascicle Three, Part Two ends here.

Fahua Xuanyi, Fascicle Four, Part One, attributed as spoken by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai.

Section Five · Noble Practice in Concentration: From Worldly Dhyāna to the Highest World-Transcending Dhyāna

Noble practice in concentration is briefly divided into three kinds: first, worldly dhyāna; second, world-transcending dhyāna; third, highest world-transcending dhyāna.

Worldly dhyāna is further divided into two kinds. First is flavored fundamental dhyāna, characterized as concealed, defiled, and indeterminate. Second is purified fundamental dhyāna, characterized as unconcealed, undefiled, and determinate. They are called fundamental because they are the foundation of worldly and world-transcending dharmas. The meaning of the Large Prajñāpāramitā is that buddhas attain the path, turn the Dharma wheel, and enter nirvāṇa entirely within dhyāna. Deep contemplation of this foundation can give birth to superior, subtle, and wondrous concentrations, and it is therefore called fundamental.

“Concealed” means realization in darkness without contemplative wisdom. “Defiled” means developing attachment to the flavor of each successive level. “Indeterminate” means that the object is unclear. Flavored fundamental dhyāna has three classes—dhyāna, immeasurables, and formless attainments—which are the twelve gates made from four dhyānas, four immeasurables, and four formless attainments.

Flavored Fundamental Dhyāna: Four Dhyānas, Four Immeasurables, and Four Formless Attainments

The initial skillful means for cultivating dhyāna is to distinguish wind, panting, and breath well and know clearly which is proper breath. Count steadily and gently, neither adding nor subtracting. If the counted breaths gradually become subtle, skillfully change the object and regulate it exactly, then realize the preliminary skillful means. At both coarse and subtle settling, dharmas arise that can support the body; one then enters desire-realm concentration or access concentration. When the eight contacts occur and the five factors are accomplished, the first dhyāna arises.

The meaning of the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom is that after leaving the fierce fire of lust one attains cooling concentration, as a person oppressed by great heat becomes happy on entering a cold pool. To leave a lower level and enter a higher one, ordinary people generally use the six contemplations, while disciples of the Buddha commonly cultivate the eight kinds of noble disposition.

Within the first dhyāna’s factors of initial and sustained thought, practitioners become disenchanted with initial and sustained thought and regard the first dhyāna as suffering. Initial and sustained thought have the two faults of coarseness and obstruction: because they disturb the concentrated mind, they are suffering. Joy and pleasure arise from them, and so they are coarse; they also obstruct higher concentration, and so they are obstructive. The second dhyāna is different and is therefore called superior, wondrous, and emergent.

In general, cultivation of the second dhyāna has three steps. First, know the faults of the first dhyāna and no longer delight in it. Second, rebuke it. Third, analyze and break it. Leaving the first dhyāna in this way is the mark of cultivating the second. When one skillfully takes the higher level as object and becomes disenchanted with the lower, body and mind, inside and out, become luminous and clear. Joy arises together with the four completed factors. The meaning of the Great Treatise is that one thereby removes initial and sustained thought and enters the place of single consciousness; because the inner mind is pure, joy and pleasure arise from concentration.

The second dhyāna has already left initial and sustained thought, and so no further skillful means can be constructed within concentration. After emerging, one again cultivates the six practices to reject the lower and advance to the higher, just as when abandoning the first dhyāna. Body and mind then become utterly quiescent, relying neither within nor without; pleasure arises with the completion of five factors. The meaning of the Great Treatise is that craving gives rise to suffering and the loss of joy gives rise to sorrow; apart from suffering and pleasure the body is at ease, possessing equanimity, mindfulness, and skillful means. To reject the lower and advance higher, one again cultivates the preceding six practices.

After skillful cultivation, the mind suddenly opens and brightens; inhalation and exhalation cease; equanimity arises, and the object is empty, clear, and quiescent, with four factors complete. If one knows the fault of pleasure, one sees the great peace of immovability. Sorrow and joy were removed before; pain and pleasure are now also ended.

After inwardly realizing the four dhyānas, a practitioner who wishes to cultivate merit outwardly should study the four immeasurables. They have shared and separate modes of cultivation. The shared cultivation is the statement in the Great Treatise that the mind of kindness may be cultivated among all four dhyānas of the form realm. In separate cultivation, the first dhyāna’s discriminating initial and sustained thought makes compassion easy to cultivate; its factor of joy makes sympathetic joy easy, its factor of pleasure makes kindness easy, and its factor of one-pointedness makes equanimity easy. Another allocation makes compassion easiest in the first dhyāna, sympathetic joy in the second, kindness in the third, and equanimity in the fourth. These are the places in which the four immeasurable concentrations are cultivated.

In cultivation, one takes as object the person before one, visualizing that person leaving suffering, attaining happiness, rejoicing, and remaining impartial, and then enters concentration. When dhyāna arises, one inwardly attains the dharmas of joy, pleasure, and impartiality and outwardly also sees the person before one leaving suffering and attaining happiness. Sometimes the inward attainment occurs without the outward vision; sometimes the outward vision occurs without the inward attainment. Their correct and deviant forms must be distinguished.

A practitioner wishing to leave the cage of the form realm cultivates the four formless concentrations. Form is removed while mind is retained, each thought continuing in dependence on the last, and they are therefore called the four formless attainments. The skillful means first rebukes form as the root of all suffering: the accumulations of hunger, thirst, cold, and heat all rely on the physical body. It then praises space as pure, wondrous, and free from every pressure. Transcending all form and corresponding with the concentration of space, the concentration of neither pain nor pleasure increases twofold. Entering deep concentration, one sees only empty space and no various marks of form, while the mind no longer scatters.

Because the concentration of space has been attained and the form realm transcended, this is called surpassing every perception of form. Because the dharma of space supports the mind and prevents perceptions of form from arising, it is called extinguishing perceptions of resistance. Because one has decisively relinquished form and no longer remembers or longs for its various forms, it is called not recollecting various perceptions of form. Rebuking the lower and taking the higher as object each have additional skillful means, explained in detail in the Dhyāna Gate. Flavored fundamental dhyāna ends here.

Purified Fundamental Dhyāna: Six Wondrous Gates, Sixteen Superior Practices, and Universal Illumination

Purified fundamental dhyāna has the three marks of being unconcealed, undefiled, and determinate, precisely the opposite of the preceding kind. It too has three classes: the six wondrous gates, sixteen superior practices, and universal illumination.

Nirvāṇa is subtle and wondrous, and these six dharmas enable one to penetrate it; they are therefore called the six wondrous gates. The three Dharma gates suit three kinds of capacity. Those with a predominance of wisdom are taught the six wondrous gates, each of which can give rise to the uncontaminated while still in the desire realm. Those with a predominance of concentration are taught the sixteen superior practices; the uncontaminated does not yet arise at lower dhyāna levels, and they awaken only when higher concentration is complete. Those whose concentration and wisdom are equal are taught universal illumination; its contemplative wisdom is deep and subtle and can give rise to the uncontaminated from lower through higher levels. This allocation follows capacities. A different allocation applies when countering illnesses and obstructions.

Broadly explained, the cultivation of these three dharmas encompasses every dhyāna. Here only one vertical path is established through their sequence of arising before and after. The six wondrous gates combine cultivation and realization, making twelve dharmas. When the Buddha said “coursing and resting in three and four, producing twelve,” he meant cultivating counting and realizing counting, continuing through cultivating purification and realizing purification.

To cultivate counting, practitioners first harmonize the breath so that it is neither rough nor slippery, then serenely and gently count from one to ten, collecting the mind on the count and preventing it from racing and scattering. Correspondence with counting is realization of counting: the mind naturally counts from one to ten without further effort, abides in the count on its own, and becomes subtle as the breath becomes subtle. When counting breath seems too coarse, counting is released and following the breath is cultivated. The same distinction between cultivation and realization applies to turning and purification.

Contemplation has three meanings. First is contemplative wisdom that contemplates the real. Second is contemplation through an understanding one has attained, namely, constructed contemplation. Third is actual contemplation. Here actual contemplation is used first and contemplative wisdom afterward.

When cultivating actual contemplation, one carefully observes the body with the mind’s eye within a concentrated mind. Subtle inhalation and exhalation are like wind in empty space. The thirty-six things—skin, flesh, sinews, bones, and the rest—lack substance like a plantain trunk; within and without they are impure and deeply repellent. One further observes that feelings of joy, pleasure, and the others within concentration all bear the mark of destruction and are suffering rather than pleasure. One observes that consciousness within concentration is impermanent, never pausing for an instant and providing nowhere to grasp. One also observes that wholesome and unwholesome dharmas within concentration all exist through conditions and have no self-nature.

Contemplation in this way breaks the four inversions. Since no personal self can be obtained, on what fixed self could dhyāna depend? This is called cultivating contemplation. During such cultivation, one feels inhalation and exhalation reach every pore, and the mind’s eye opens and brightens. One thoroughly sees the thirty-six things and nests of worms within the body and the impurity within and without; one sees all sufferings press upon it, every instant change, and every dharma lack self-nature. Compassion and joy arise in the mind, which no longer relies on anything. One thereby attains the four applications of mindfulness and breaks the four inversions. This is called correspondence with contemplation; the details cannot all be recorded. When the Buddha sat beneath the tree and inwardly contemplated ānāpāna, first counting and then following, it was exactly this dhyāna method.

The names of the sixteen superior practices are not explained here in detail. They are named from their corresponding conditions.

The cultivation marks of the sixteen superior practices begin with knowing the breath entering and leaving, which replaces counting. Regulate the breath until it is continuously subtle and follow it single-mindedly. On inhaling, know it from nose to navel; on exhaling, know it from navel to nose, following and illuminating it without distraction. Know wind, panting, and air to be coarse and breath to be subtle. When coarse breath enters, regulate it until it is subtle, like a gatekeeper who knows who enters and leaves, blocks the bad, and admits the good. Know whether the breath is rough or smooth, light or heavy, cool or warm, long-lasting or brief, difficult or easy.

Know further that breath is what life relies upon: if a single breath does not return, life ends. One thereby perceives the fragility and impermanence of breath and life and does not give rise to attachment or pride. Knowing that breath is not self, one does not give rise to views of self. Knowing the breath as long or short corresponds to desire-realm concentration. Knowing it throughout the body corresponds to access concentration. Removing every bodily activity corresponds to the factors of initial and sustained thought in the first dhyāna. Experiencing joy corresponds to the joy factor; experiencing pleasure to the pleasure factor; experiencing all mental activity to the factor of one-pointedness.

Causing the mind to rejoice is the dhyāna accompanied by joy. Collecting the mind is the factor of one-pointedness in the second dhyāna. Liberating the mind is the pleasure of the third. Contemplating impermanence is the immovability of the fourth. Contemplating dispersal corresponds to the sphere of space; contemplating dispassion to the sphere of consciousness; contemplating cessation to the sphere of nothing whatsoever; contemplating relinquishment to neither perception nor nonperception. At contemplation of relinquishment, one attains the nirvāṇa of the three vehicles. Horizontally explained, contemplative wisdom corresponds to the four applications of mindfulness.

In universal-illumination dhyāna, practitioners contemplate breath, physical form, and mind as three things without distinction. They carefully observe inhalation and exhalation: there is no accumulation on entering and no dispersal on leaving; no fixed road is traversed in coming and no trace can be followed in going. Like wind in empty space, breath’s nature has no existence. Breath depends on the body, but the body itself has no fixed substance. Deluded thought from a past life brings about the four elements of this life; the four elements enclose empty space and are provisionally called a body. The six divisions beginning with the head, the thirty-six things, and the four subtle elements are each not the body.

One next contemplates that the body exists through mind, while mind arises through conditions, arising and ceasing so swiftly that no abiding place or fixed shape can be seen. There is only a name, and the name too is empty. Contemplating breath, form, and mind in this way, one cannot obtain an independent nature for any of the three. Since the three things cannot be obtained, neither can any dharma. This is the cultivation mark of universal-illumination dhyāna.

Its mark of realization is inward realization of the real truth, whose empty quiescence accords with one’s contemplative understanding. One also penetrates body, form, and breath in sequence with complete clarity and knows the correspondences between the world’s astronomy and geography and the body. One can fully possess the concentrations of all three realms, know that subtle afflictions remain at neither perception nor nonperception, break delusion, give rise to the real, and attain the nirvāṇa of the three vehicles. All details are in the Dhyāna Gate. Worldly dhyāna ends here.

World-Transcending Dhyāna: Contemplating, Refining, Perfuming, and Cultivating

Second is world-transcending dhyāna, which has four kinds: contemplating, refining, perfuming, and cultivating.

Contemplative dhyāna includes the nine corpse contemplations, eight liberations, eight superior bases, and ten universal bases. These four groups are collectively called contemplative dhyāna. To break the fierce fire of lust, practitioners must gradually develop and mature visualization; each contemplation must correspond with concentration. Visualization and concentration support the mind and keep it from scattering, thereby removing worldly craving and breaking the six desires.

Some desire red, white, yellow, black, and other colors. Some desire handsome appearance, some dignified deportment, some seductive speech, some smooth skin, and some a person who pleases them. These six desires are like a deep abyss in which practitioners sink.

Cultivating the nine corpse contemplations removes the six thieves. The contemplation of death breaks desire for deportment and speech. Swelling, decay, and being eaten break desire for appearance. Blood-smeared, livid, and festering contemplations break desire for color. Skeleton and burning contemplations break desire for smoothness. Together, the nine remove desire for a beloved person. Being eaten and scattered also remove attachment to a particular pleasing person. Besides removing desire, the nine weaken anger and delusion and shake the mountain of the ninety-eight proclivities. Though only an initial gate of impurity contemplation, they can accomplish a great work, like relying on a floating corpse to cross the sea.

The names of the eight liberations are not listed here in detail. They turn away from pure and attractive sense desires and relinquish the mind’s attachment and are therefore called liberations.

To cultivate the eight liberations, practitioners first keep discipline purely, make great vows, and seek to accomplish a great work. They straighten body and thought and carefully contemplate the right big toe, imagining it the size of a soybean, black, swollen, and blistered. Once this perception is established, they next contemplate it as large as a mottled bean, then a finger, then a hen’s egg, and in sequence as two, three, four, and five fingers.

Next contemplate the sole, heel, ankle, joints beside the foot, knee, thigh, and hip, all swollen; contemplate the right leg in the same way. Next contemplate the excretory passages, waist, spine, abdomen, back, chest, and ribs, all swollen. Then contemplate the right shoulder blade, arm, elbow, wrist, palm, five fingers, head, and jaw. Observe the body from feet to head and then head to feet. Seeing only swelling, the mind becomes disgusted.

Next contemplate decay and festering. Worms and pus flow from the excretory passages, stinking worse than a dead dog. Having seen one’s own body this way, contemplate the beloved as the same. Inwardly, views of self are broken; outwardly, craving is broken. Abiding in this observation for a long time removes worldly craving.

Next remove skin and flesh and carefully contemplate the white bones. See bones with blue, yellow, white, dove-gray, and other colors, and know that none of these bone marks are self. Attaining this contemplation is called desire-realm concentration.

When next contemplating bones as blue, see the whole earth in east, west, south, and north as a blue mark. The same applies to contemplating yellow, white, and dove-gray. This is the mark of access concentration. Next contemplate the bone-person emitting light between the brows and see a buddha within the light. This is the mark of accomplishing the first liberation. The arising marks of the eight liberations in sequence are explained in detail in the Dhyāna Gate.

Among the eight superior bases, the first two are in the first dhyāna, the third and fourth in the second, and the final four in the fourth. Because the third dhyāna has abundant pleasure and a duller mind, no superior base is established there. The preceding liberations were not yet sovereign over whether their objects were few or many. Through deeper and subtler contemplation, the superior bases can victoriously know and see the few and many, beautiful and ugly, like a swift horse that can break a battle line and also be controlled by its rider.

The ten universal bases blend eight colors and two mental bases into one another until they vastly and universally fill everything and transform without obstruction. Details are likewise found in the Dhyāna Gate.

Refining dhyāna is the nine sequential concentrations. Although the eight concentrations have already been attained, intervals still remain during entry. They are now made thoroughly practiced so that one enters in sequence from the first and shallowest to the final and deepest without impurity or interval. What previously could not occur in sequence is made sequential, and they are therefore called sequential concentrations. They are also called refining dhyāna because uncontaminated wisdom refines contaminated concentration and removes intervening coarseness and impurity. They are further called refining because all concentrations are evenly harmonized so that concentration and wisdom are equal and uninterrupted. The Abhidharma speaks of perfuming and refining but only uses the uncontaminated to perfume the four dhyānas. Here the uncontaminated universally refines all eight levels, producing the uninterrupted samādhi of sequential entry.

Perfuming dhyāna is the lion’s-sport samādhi. The preceding refining dhyāna enabled uninterrupted sequential entry. Now one can not only enter in uninterrupted sequence but also emerge in uninterrupted sequence, removing coarse intervening weight, attachment to dharmas, and dust from delight in flavors. Like a lion that can retreat and advance while shaking off all dust, practitioners who enter and emerge from this Dharma universally perfume the dhyānas so that all become penetrating, effective, and freely transformable, like leather smoked until supple enough to be fashioned at will.

Cultivating dhyāna is transcending samādhi. One can enter by leaping from near to near and from near to far, and can also emerge and abide through leaps. This is the deepest point of the qualities of concentration and is therefore called the summit dhyāna; one can enter and emerge freely within every Dharma gate.

Further, the nine sequential concentrations are skillful at entering the eight liberations; the lion’s sport is skillful at emerging from them; and transcending samādhi is skillful at abiding in them. The same meaning applies to skillful entry, emergence, and abiding in hundreds of thousands of samādhis.

Just as a painter can blend only five colors and paint immeasurable hues, and worldly recompense can depend only on the four elements yet give rise to all five aggregates, so dhyāna depends only on contemplating, refining, perfuming, and cultivating yet gives rise to every supernormal transformation without lacking any. The Great Sutra says that a bodhisattva abides in dhyāna and attains the ground of forbearance. A ground has the two meanings of supporting and producing. Every dhyāna fully possesses compassion, vows, factors of the path, the six perfections, and all other practices.

When contemplative wisdom is explained within discipline and concentration, it is the shared application of mindfulness. Contemplative wisdom in itself is the application of mindfulness by nature. Taking together discipline, concentration, and the other objects, wisdoms, and words gives the conditioned application of mindfulness. Further, impurity contemplation breaks the inversion of purity and is the application of mindfulness to the body. Contemplating the pain and pleasure experienced by body and mind in dhyāna and seeing feelings in the three periods and within and without as unobtainable breaks the inversion of pleasure and is the application of mindfulness to feeling. Contemplating minds in the dhyānas—wholesome and unwholesome action occurs because mind exists, but without a fixed mind there is no fixed agent—breaks the inversion of self and is the application of mindfulness to dharmas. Contemplating mind’s arising and ceasing and the discontinuity of its earlier and later limits breaks the inversion of permanence and is the application of mindfulness to mind.

The eight liberations contemplate the four applications of mindfulness; the nine sequential concentrations refine them; the lion’s sport perfumes them; and transcending samādhi cultivates them. The two vehicles cultivate these five kinds of dhyāna for their own cessation and make the four withered applications of mindfulness; this cannot be called the ground of forbearance. Bodhisattvas deeply contemplate the applications to transform sentient beings, bear sentient beings through compassionate vows, and make the four flourishing applications of mindfulness. This is the Great Vehicle and is therefore called the ground of forbearance.

Someone asks: since the formless realm has no physical body, how can it fully possess the four applications of mindfulness?

The answer is that the Abhidharma says the formless realm has discipline co-arisen with the path. Discipline is non-constructed form. Because it corresponds by taking the uncontaminated as object, this disciplinary form follows uncontaminated dharmas into the formless realm. Satyasiddhi scholars say that form is an unmanifest dharma and does not reach the formless realm. The Śāriputra Abhidharma Śāstra says that the formless realm has form. Thus even within Lesser Vehicle explanations there are already two positions. The Great Sutra further says that the form of the formless realm is not known by śrāvakas. If so, what prevents the four applications of mindfulness from extending through the formless realm?

Another question asks: in the dhyānas one can speak only of the four applications of mindfulness, and even the four right efforts have not yet been separately established. How can all the factors of the path already be present?

The answer is that when names are established according to stages, the factors of the path following the applications of mindfulness have not yet been reached. In actual cultivation, however, the applications already possess every factor of the path. The meaning of the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom is that initially cultivating the wholesome contaminated five aggregates and gaining right recollection within conditioned dharmas is the wisdom of the applications of mindfulness. The four forms of effort are the four right efforts. Cultivation within a concentrated mind is called the four bases of supernormal power. The arising of five wholesome roots is called the five faculties; their growth is called the five powers. Discerning the function of the path is called the seven factors of awakening. Practice on a secure path is called the eightfold path. Since the initial wholesome contaminated dharmas can already possess all these, why wait until the path of seeing for the eightfold path? As the applications possess the thirty-seven factors, the stages of warmth, summit, and the others can be understood by analogy. What is true of contemplative dhyāna is also true of refining, perfuming, and cultivating.

Within every dhyāna, a bodhisattva feels compassion for sentient beings according to the Dharma gate entered, like parents who do not forget their children when they obtain food. The bodhisattva pities sentient beings in the darkness of delusion. Rather than seeking the happiness of dhyāna within, they seek it in external objects and become immersed in the five desires. They suffer while seeking, fear loss after gaining, and grieve when loss comes. The desires have no true happiness, and the bodhisattva therefore arouses compassion.

Given these faults of the five desires, how can they be left? If the happiness of dhyāna is attained, one is no longer deceived by desire. The bodhisattva therefore arouses kindness and from it also makes the four universal vows.

Cultivation of the six perfections within the dhyānas also has distinct marks. Sentient beings are bound by craving for the world and occupied with livelihoods they cannot relinquish for an instant. The bodhisattva relinquishes them and enters dhyāna single-mindedly; this is giving. Without keeping discipline, concentration cannot arise; when dhyāna is entered, mixed thoughts do not arise and evil is naturally absent; this is discipline. Restraining body and speech, resisting fatigue while enduring pain, controlling external objects so the mind does not attach, and subduing inner afflictions so they do not arise is forbearance.

Maintaining right mindfulness through the first, middle, and last watches of the night, and keeping the mind constantly in concentration while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down without mixed thoughts, is diligence. Being single-minded in concentration, neither scattered nor attached to its flavor, is concentration. Being single-minded in concentration while knowing the marks of worldly dharmas’ arising and ceasing and deeply knowing what is false is prajñā. Every practice is fully present in dhyāna, and each dhyāna can produce many qualities. Because compassion bears sentient beings, it receives the name ground of forbearance.

Highest World-Transcending Dhyāna and the Judgment and Opening of Noble Practice in Concentration

Third, highest world-transcending dhyāna is the nine great dhyānas explained in the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra, not all unfolded here. Self-nature dhyāna contemplates the true nature of mind and is called the highest concentration. What dharma among all dharmas is not revealed through mind? Mind encompasses all like a wish-fulfilling jewel. All nine great dhyānas are the Dharma realm; everything tends toward dhyāna, every encountered object is real, and not a single color or fragrance is other than the middle way. The two vehicles do not even know their names, much less personally realize these concentrations.

The preceding old fundamental dhyāna is like milk, refining dhyāna like curds, perfuming dhyāna like raw ghee, cultivating dhyāna like refined ghee, and the nine great dhyānas like clarified essence. Clarified essence is wondrous.

They may also be judged by the mind with which dhyāna is cultivated. Cultivating fundamental dhyāna with a mind attached to flavor produces milk. Cultivating it only for self-liberation produces curds. Cultivating it with compassion produces raw ghee. Cultivating it with sequential compassion produces refined ghee. Cultivating it with the mind of the true mark produces clarified essence. The other four flavors are judged in the same way. Whichever dhyāna one cultivates, without the mind of the true mark it is called coarse.

When the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous, ānāpāna itself is the Great Vehicle. The true mark of the Dharma realm encompasses and supports all dharmas, and no other wondrousness exists beyond it. Thus the buddhas attain the path, turn the Dharma wheel, and enter nirvāṇa in the four dhyānas. Seeing the true mark within the four dhyānas is called the dhyāna pāramitā; how much more is this so for all other concentrations? This is the meaning of absolute wondrousness. Noble practice in concentration ends here.

Section Six · Noble Practice in Wisdom: Wisdom of the Four Kinds of Four Truths

Noble practice in wisdom is wisdom of the four kinds of four truths: arising-and-ceasing, non-arising, immeasurable, and non-constructed.

Wisdom of the Arising-and-Ceasing Four Truths

Wisdom of the arising-and-ceasing four truths continues to observe the dependent and primary recompenses seen through the nine corpse contemplations and liberations. The body swells, rots, decays, and is impure, bearing marks of oppression and manifestation and the marks of the three sufferings. This is wisdom of the truth of suffering.

Practitioners no longer become deluded about or attached to dependent and primary recompense, no longer become slaves of affection, and no longer use body and speech to commit upper, middle, or lower grades of the ten evils and thus bring about lives in the three bad destinies. They know the marks of evil karma’s production, growth, transformation, and the twenty-five modes of existence. They also know worldly cause and effect and the faults of impurity, and give rise to profound shame and revulsion.

Thus, they never kill another to preserve themselves, seize another’s property to nourish their own bodies, indulge in impure sexual conduct, use crooked means to seek a reputation for uprightness, alienate enemies from their allies, entrap others over honor and disgrace, flatter inwardly while acting clever outwardly, greedily accept without measure, indulge poison that harms their cultivation of the path, or lose the real through deviant views.

Instead of committing these impure ten evils, they feel shame and contempt for them and cultivate upper, middle, and lower grades of the ten wholesome acts, bringing about lives in the three good destinies. The causes and results of the ten wholesome acts likewise have marks of production, growth, transformation, and the twenty-five modes of existence. This is wisdom of the truth of arising.

Contemplating dependent and primary recompense as impure breaks the inversion of purity. Contemplating every feeling as the three sufferings breaks the inversion of pleasure. Contemplating every activity as existing through combination breaks the inversion of self. Contemplating every mind as arising and ceasing breaks the inversion of permanence. From the applications of mindfulness to separate marks through the general application, one skillfully cultivates the right efforts, bases of supernormal power, faculties, powers, awakening factors, and path, advancing toward the gate of nirvāṇa. Compassionate vows, the six perfections, and all practices are also present, revealing the Great Vehicle’s marks. These are also the marks of discipline, concentration, and wisdom and of the capacity to remove afflictions. They are called wisdom of the truth of the path.

When inversions do not arise, karma does not arise. When karma does not arise, causes do not arise; when causes do not arise, results do not arise. This is called the mark of quiescent cessation, the mark of the cessation of the twenty-five modes of existence, and the mark of removal. This completes wisdom of the arising-and-ceasing four truths.

Wisdom of the Non-Arising Four Truths

Wisdom of the non-arising four truths contemplates that impure form is itself empty by nature, not empty only after form has been extinguished, like an image in a mirror without real substance. Thoroughly understanding that the five appropriated aggregates are empty and have no existence, one realizes that suffering has no fixed suffering while the real truth can still be seen. This is wisdom of the truth of suffering.

Knowing that arising comes from mind, that mind is like an illusion, and that arising produced by mind is likewise illusory is wisdom of the truth of arising; every craving and view is the same as empty space. The path originally counters arising. Since what is treated is illusory, the path that treats it is also illusory; this is wisdom of the truth of the path. Only if dharmas truly arose could their cessation be spoken of. Since dharmas never arise, there is now nothing to cease. Even if a dharma surpassed nirvāṇa, it too would still be called illusory. This is wisdom of the truth of cessation.

Although bodhisattvas know sentient beings of the five aggregates to be like empty space, they still vow to liberate space-like beings. Although knowing arising to have no existence, they still cut off every deluded thought, as if fighting empty space. Although knowing the path to bear a nondual mark, they still diligently plant trees in space. Although no fixed sentient beings attain cessation, they still bring immeasurable sentient beings to cessation. Unfolding the factors of the path, six perfections, and other practices through this wisdom that takes concrete affairs as immediately real is wisdom of the non-arising four truths.

Wisdom of the Immeasurable Four Truths

Wisdom of the immeasurable four truths is as the Great Sutra teaches. If the four truths taught by the Buddha already encompassed all dharmas, the Buddha should not have said that dharmas not yet taught were as numerous as the lands in the ten directions. If they did not encompass all dharmas, there should be a fifth truth. The Buddha answers that the four truths have completely encompassed all dharmas and there is no fifth truth; suffering simply has immeasurable marks, and arising, cessation, and path each also have immeasurable marks that the Buddha never exhaustively taught in that scripture.

If everything were taken only as empty, emptiness itself would have no emptiness; how could immeasurable distinctions exist? Thus this is known to be discerning wisdom that emerges from emptiness into the provisional. This wisdom universally knows the distinctions between provisional and real in the ten Dharma realms and is called wisdom of the truth of suffering. Universally knowing the differences among the five dwelling afflictions is wisdom of the truth of arising. Universally understanding half-word, full-word, primary-practice, auxiliary-practice, and other Dharma gates is wisdom of the truth of the path. Understanding the differences among the half and full sixteen gates and various gates of cessation is wisdom of the truth of cessation.

The two vehicles take only the Dharma medicine of the four truths, treat their own illnesses of views and thought, and leave birth and death themselves; they are not yet skilled in distinguishing the illnesses and medicines of sentient beings. A bodhisattva who would become a great king of physicians must examine varied pulses, identify varied illnesses, master varied medicines, and know varied differences among illnesses. On this basis the bodhisattva arouses many kinds of compassion, practices many practices, perfections, and factors of the path, accomplishes many kinds of sentient beings, and purifies many buddha-lands. The details are as explained in the Mohe Zhiguan. This is called wisdom of the immeasurable four truths.

Wisdom of the Non-Constructed Four Truths

Wisdom of the non-constructed four truths first establishes the truths through the conditions of understanding and delusion. The Great Sutra says that a jewel was always within a person’s body, but the person thought it lost and therefore grieved and wept. Seeing only the body and wound, not the jewel or mirror, the person had sorrow and grief without joy. This is losing the path and cessation and thereby giving rise to suffering and arising.

When one understands that the substance of the wound is the jewel, one rejoices and no longer weeps. Fundamental ignorance is extinguished, and the bright lamp of awakening is lit. This is understanding the conditions of awakening, namely, path and cessation. Path and cessation are immediately suffering and arising; suffering and arising are immediately path and cessation. The four truths are thus not four mutually isolated entities.

Since four is not a fixed four, the immeasurable is not a fixed immeasurable. Since immeasurable is not fixed as immeasurable, the provisional is not fixed as provisional. Since the provisional is not fixed as provisional, emptiness is not fixed as empty. Not only is emptiness unobtainable in immediate emptiness; the provisional is also unobtainable in immediate provisional existence. The extremes of empty and provisional perish simultaneously, one directly enters the middle way, and quiescence and illumination flow together.

The meaning of the Large Prajñāpāramitā is that the knowledge of all modes is the mark of quiescent cessation. Knowing every kind, category of practice, and appearance is called the knowledge of all modes. The mark of quiescent cessation blocks and extinguishes both extremes; knowing every category and appearance lets both flow and illuminate. With no contriving mind, quiescent illumination naturally knows clearly. It is therefore called inconceivable and is wisdom of the non-constructed four truths.

The Great Sutra says that there is no suffering and no truth, yet there is the real; there are no arising, path, or cessation and no truth, yet there is the real. “The real” means the middle way, Tathāgata, empty space, and buddha-nature. Contemplating in this way gives rise to objectless compassion, which removes suffering at the extremes of emptiness and existence and gives the happiness of the middle way.

Cultivated form is neither pure nor impure, but immediately empty, provisionally existent, and the middle, falling into neither withered nor flourishing. Cessation is taught in the middle, with every factor of the path fully present. Universally relinquishing dependent and primary recompenses throughout the ten Dharma realms is giving. Path-born discipline of the middle way reaching the other shore of śīla is discipline. Abiding in the forbearance of quiescent cessation, undisturbed by either extreme, is forbearance. Not being interrupted by the two extremes is firm and powerful diligence. Entering the king samādhi and abiding in the Śūraṅgama is concentration. Prajñā of the true mark is wisdom. Functioning skillfully without deliberation is skillful means. The self with eight sovereignties is power. Indeterminate transformation-of-transformation dhyāna is vow. Attaining the three wisdoms within one mind is knowledge.

Each pāramitā fully possesses all ten pāramitās and every buddha-dharma. One practice is immeasurable practices, and immeasurable practices are one practice. This is the Tathāgata’s practice and wisdom of the non-constructed four truths.

Section Seven · The Ground of Fearlessness and the Twenty-Five Samādhis

While cultivating this wisdom, one abides on the ground of fearlessness, namely, the first ground of joy, and leaves five fears: fear for one’s livelihood, fear of bad reputation, fear of death, fear of bad destinies, and fear of the imposing power of assemblies.

The Great Sutra says that not fearing desire, anger, or delusion shows that the three poisons are absent within. Being free of the eight winds without removes fear of bad reputation. Not fearing hell shows freedom from fear of bad destinies. Not fearing śramaṇas or brahmans shows freedom from fear of the imposing power of assemblies. Seeing the middle way removes fear of the two kinds of death. Establishing the constant life of wisdom of the true mark removes fear for one’s livelihood.

Entering this ground, one fully possesses the twenty-five samādhis, breaks the twenty-five modes of existence, and reveals self-nature within them. Self-nature is real nature, and real nature is buddha-nature. One thereby opens the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, gives rise to the real middle way, cuts off delusion of fundamental ignorance, and reveals the true and responsive bodies. Responding according to causes and conditions, one can manifest bodies of the ten Dharma realms in a hundred buddha-worlds, enter the wisdom ground of the buddhas of the three periods, and benefit both oneself and others. This is a genuine great celebration and is therefore called the ground of joy.

This ground fully possesses the four virtues of permanence, happiness, self, and purity. Breaking the afflictions of the twenty-five modes of existence is called purity. Breaking their karma is called self. Not receiving their recompense is called happiness. No longer undergoing their birth and death is called permanence. This is exactly what it means for buddha-nature to become manifest.

The Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra says that when knowledge of no-self is cultivated and perception of self does not arise, how could craving for self or the necessities of life remain? One therefore leaves fear for one’s livelihood. Seeking nothing from others and constantly benefiting all sentient beings, one leaves fear of bad reputation. Giving rise to no thought of either views or perceptions of self, one leaves fear of death. Knowing that after this life’s end one will certainly meet buddhas and bodhisattvas, one leaves fear of bad destinies. Contemplating that no one in the world equals oneself, much less surpasses oneself, one leaves fear of assemblies. The Ten Stages Scripture gives the same explanation.

The Treatise on the Ten Stages explains that the first fear relies on body, the second on speech, the third and fourth on body, and the fifth on mind. Livelihood depends on the various necessities the body requires; because these support life, they are called means of subsistence, and to subsist is to live. This speaks from the cause of the future result, and the bodhisattva no longer has this fear. Names and speech gain and lose through the mouth. A bodhisattva guards reputation not for gain and does not inwardly hope for the respect of others, and therefore has no fear of bad reputation. The fifth relies on mind and is readily understood. The third and fourth rely on body: not coveting good destinies or hating bad ones, one has neither craving nor aversion toward the body and therefore has no fear of bad destinies; having neither craving nor aversion toward the body, one also has no fear of death.

Guanding here appends three rounds of explanation. The first says that not fearing desire and the others shows destruction of the non-constructed truth of arising; not fearing bad destinies shows destruction of the non-constructed truth of suffering; not fearing assemblies shows establishment of the non-constructed truth of the path; and lacking fear for one’s livelihood and fear of death shows that seeing buddha-nature attains permanence and establishes the non-constructed truth of cessation.

The second round says that when the twenty-five modes of existence are broken, existence can contain the result. Since existence is broken, the truth of arising is broken; since the result is broken, the truth of suffering is broken. Attaining the twenty-five samādhis establishes the truth of the path. Seeing self-nature within the twenty-five modes of existence—and self-nature is buddha-nature—establishes the truth of cessation.

The third round says that breaking the twenty-five modes of existence leaves no afflictions, which is the virtue of purity. Breaking their results leaves no suffering, which is the virtue of permanence. Attaining the twenty-five samādhis is the virtue of happiness. Seeing self-nature within the twenty-five modes is the virtue of self. The four virtues become clearly manifest here.

From this point, Zhiyi’s lecture resumes to explain the names of the twenty-five samādhis.

The twenty-five samādhis are named according to the four siddhāntas. First, names follow current inclinations, like a person with many children giving each one a separate name so the siblings are not confused. Each of the twenty-five samādhis likewise has a name so conventional speech remains orderly; none may be grasped as a fixed entity. Second, each samādhi is named according to the skillful means of its doctrinal meaning and the reason for that meaning. Third, each is named according to its corresponding concrete affair and primary counteragent. Fourth, although truth is originally nameless, words are skillfully established in accordance with truth. Although four meanings are present, most of the twenty-five names follow counteragent and principle.

In general, each of the twenty-five samādhis has four layers: first, identify the faults of the corresponding mode of life; second, explain the qualities of the present dharma; third, combine practices to accomplish samādhi; fourth, compassionately break the corresponding mode of life. All twenty-five passages follow this pattern.

Hells, Animals, Hungry Ghosts, and Asuras

First, hell existence is broken through the stainless samādhi. Hells are the site of the most defiled recompense. The causes of that recompense are also defilements: evil karma, views and thought, dust-like ignorance, and fundamental ignorance. This first sees the faults.

To break these defilements, a bodhisattva cultivates the fundamental discipline explained above, breaking the defilement of evil karma; cultivates the liberations and other concentrations, suppressing views and thought; cultivates arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom, breaking views and thought; cultivates immeasurable wisdom, breaking dust-like ignorance; and cultivates non-constructed wisdom, breaking fundamental ignorance. These are qualities of the present dharma.

When the defilements of views and thought are broken, the samādhi of the real truth is accomplished. When evil karma and dust-like ignorance are broken, the samādhi of the conventional truth is accomplished. When fundamental ignorance is broken, the king samādhi of the middle way is accomplished. This combines practices to accomplish samādhi.

When bodhisattvas break the defilements of hell for themselves, every practice contains compassionate vows that invisibly perfume the Dharma realm. If sentient beings in hell have conditions corresponding to this compassion, the bodhisattva can go there to respond without moving from Dharma-nature, through the power of the king samādhi. Like Vasu and Devadatta, the bodhisattva manifests a suitable body and teaches a suitable Dharma. Those with capacities for wholesome cultivation receive the compassion within discipline and are enabled to leave suffering and attain happiness. Those with capacities for emptiness receive the compassion within arising-and-ceasing, non-arising, and other wisdoms and attain the real truth. Those with capacities for the provisional receive the compassion within immeasurable wisdom and attain the conventional truth. Those with capacities for the middle receive the compassion within non-constructed wisdom and attain the king samādhi. The bodhisattva was already stainless and now also makes others stainless, and this is therefore called the stainless samādhi. The passages below all follow these four layers, which need not be repeated in full every time.

Second, animal existence is broken through the nonretrogression samādhi. Animals lack shame and retreat from good destinies. There is retreat caused by evil karma, retreat caused by views and thought, retreat caused by dust-like ignorance, and retreat caused by fundamental ignorance. To break every retreat, a bodhisattva cultivates discipline to break retreat through evil karma, concentration to suppress retreat through views and thought, arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom to break retreat through views and thought, immeasurable wisdom to break retreat through dust-like ignorance, and non-constructed wisdom to break retreat through fundamental ignorance.

When views and thought are broken, nonretrogression in stage is attained and the samādhi of the real truth is accomplished. When evil karma and dust-like ignorance are broken, nonretrogression in practice is attained and the samādhi of the conventional truth is accomplished. When fundamental ignorance is broken, nonretrogression in thought is attained and the samādhi of the middle way is accomplished. All practices cultivated before contained compassionate vows invisibly perfuming the Dharma realm. If beings in the animal destiny have conditions corresponding to compassion, the bodhisattva goes there without moving from Dharma-nature through the king samādhi and manifests the suitable bodies of dragons, elephants, duo birds, great vultures, and the like, teaching the corresponding Dharma.

Those with capacities for wholesome cultivation receive the compassionate response of discipline and concentration and are enabled to leave suffering and attain happiness. Those with capacities for emptiness receive the compassion of arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom and are led out of existence into emptiness, accomplishing the samādhi of the real truth. Those with capacities for the provisional receive the compassion of immeasurable wisdom and are led out of emptiness into the provisional, accomplishing the samādhi of the conventional truth. Those with capacities for the middle receive the compassion of non-constructed wisdom and are led away from the extremes into the middle, accomplishing the king samādhi. The bodhisattva neither regresses nor allows others to regress and is therefore said to possess the nonretrogression samādhi.

Third, hungry-ghost existence is broken through the mind-joy samādhi. Hungry ghosts constantly suffer evil karma’s intense hunger and thirst, afflictions of views and thought, dark obstruction by adventitious dust, and the root suffering of fundamental ignorance. To break these sufferings, a bodhisattva cultivates the preceding discipline to break suffering from evil karma, concentration to suppress suffering from views and thought, arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom to break suffering from views and thought, immeasurable wisdom to break suffering from dust-like ignorance, and non-constructed wisdom to break suffering from fundamental ignorance.

When suffering from views and thought is broken, the unconditioned mind-joy samādhi is accomplished. When suffering from evil karma and dust-like ignorance is broken, the samādhi of the joy of broad learning and discernment is accomplished. When suffering from fundamental ignorance is broken, the samādhi of permanent happiness is accomplished. Compassion cultivated in the original practices invisibly perfumes the Dharma realm. If beings in the hungry-ghost destiny have conditions corresponding to compassion, the bodhisattva goes there without moving from Dharma-nature through the king samādhi, manifests a corresponding body, and teaches a corresponding Dharma.

Those with capacities for wholesome cultivation receive a compassionate response through discipline, and fragrant milk flows from the bodhisattva’s hand to satisfy them. Those with capacities for emptiness receive the compassion of arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom and reach the shore of the unconditioned. Those with capacities for the provisional receive the compassion of immeasurable wisdom and play throughout the five destinies. Those with capacities for the middle receive the compassion of non-constructed wisdom, purify the roots of the three poisons—desire, anger, and delusion—and accomplish the buddha path without doubt. The bodhisattva attains joy and also enables others to attain joy. It is therefore called the mind-joy samādhi.

Fourth, asura existence is broken through the gladness samādhi. Asuras abound in suspicion and fear. There is suspicion and fear from evil karma, from views and thought, from dust-like ignorance, and from fundamental ignorance. To break them, a bodhisattva cultivates all practices: discipline breaks suspicion and fear from evil karma; concentration suppresses those from views and thought; arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom break those from views and thought; immeasurable wisdom breaks those from dust-like ignorance; and non-constructed wisdom breaks those from fundamental ignorance.

When views and thought are broken, the samādhi of joy in the Dharma of emptiness is accomplished. When evil karma and dust-like ignorance are broken, the samādhi in which all sentient beings rejoice on seeing one is accomplished. When fundamental ignorance is broken, the king samādhi of joy is accomplished. The original practices and compassionate vows invisibly perfume the Dharma realm. If asuras have conditions corresponding to compassion, the bodhisattva goes there without moving from Dharma-nature through the king samādhi, manifests a corresponding body, and teaches a corresponding Dharma.

Those with capacities for wholesome cultivation receive the compassionate response of the disciplinary body and are freed from fear due to evil karma. Those with capacities for emptiness receive the compassion of arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom and are freed from fear due to views and thought. Those with capacities for the provisional receive the compassion of immeasurable wisdom and are freed from fear due to ignorance of particulars. Those with capacities for the middle receive the compassion of non-constructed wisdom and are freed from fear due to fundamental ignorance. The bodhisattva realizes the three kinds of gladness and also frees others from the three fears. It is therefore called the gladness samādhi. The names above are primarily established according to their counteragents.

The Four Continents and the Dhyāna Realms of the Gods

Fifth, existence in eastern Pūrvavideha is broken through the sunlight samādhi. The morning sun rises in the east, so the name is skillfully established from that fact. The sun represents the light of wisdom that illuminates and breaks delusion. People in the eastern continent have darkness of evil karma, views and thought, dust-like ignorance, and fundamental ignorance. To illuminate and remove every darkness, the bodhisattva cultivates the light of discipline to break the darkness of evil karma, the streaming light of concentration to suppress the darkness of views and thought, the light of knowledge of all to break views and thought, the light of knowledge of paths to break dust-like ignorance, and the light of the knowledge of all modes to break fundamental ignorance.

When darkness of views and thought is broken, the sunlight samādhi of knowledge of all is accomplished. When darkness of dust-like ignorance is broken, the sunlight samādhi of knowledge of paths is accomplished. When darkness of fundamental ignorance is broken, the sunlight samādhi of the knowledge of all modes is accomplished. Original practices and compassionate vows invisibly perfume the Dharma realm. If beings in Pūrvavideha have conditions corresponding to compassion, the bodhisattva goes there without moving from Dharma-nature through the king samādhi, manifests a body, and teaches the Dharma. Those with capacities for wholesome cultivation receive the compassion of discipline and escape the darkness of evil karma. Those with capacities for emptiness receive the compassion of arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom and escape the darkness of views and thought. Those with capacities for the provisional receive immeasurable compassion and escape the darkness of ignorance of particulars. Those with capacities for the middle receive non-constructed compassion and escape the darkness of fundamental ignorance. The bodhisattva breaks darkness for self and others and is therefore said to possess the sunlight samādhi.

Sixth, existence in western Aparagodānīya is broken through the moonlight samādhi. The moon first appears in the west at evening, and the name is likewise skillfully established from this fact. The moon also illuminates and breaks darkness. Its remaining qualities, accomplishment of concentration, and responsive transformation are understood according to the sunlight samādhi.

Seventh, existence in northern Uttarakuru is broken through the blazing-heat samādhi. The north is a dark and cold place where hard-frozen ice is difficult to melt; without fierce, blazing heat, it can never melt. People in the northern continent firmly grasp no-self and are difficult to transform; without the blaze of wisdom and a mind without mine, they can never be liberated.

The no-mine they grasp is still a deluded construction; self-nature personal self, dharma-self, and thusness-self remain. To break these selves, the bodhisattva cultivates arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom to break the self-nature personal self, immeasurable wisdom to break dharma-self, and non-constructed wisdom to break thusness-self. Attaining emptiness of persons accomplishes the wisdom-blaze of the real truth. Attaining emptiness of dharmas accomplishes the wisdom-blaze of the conventional truth. Attaining emptiness of thusness accomplishes the wisdom-blaze of the middle way.

Original compassion invisibly perfumes the Dharma realm. If beings in Uttarakuru have conditions corresponding to compassion, the bodhisattva goes there without moving from Dharma-nature through the king samādhi, manifests a body, and teaches the Dharma. Those with capacities for wholesome cultivation receive the compassion of discipline and escape the deludedly constructed no-self. Those with capacities for emptiness receive the compassion of arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom and escape the self-nature self. Those with capacities for the provisional receive immeasurable compassion and escape dharma-self. Those with capacities for the middle receive non-constructed compassion and escape thusness-self. The bodhisattva breaks the deluded self for self and others and is therefore said to possess the blazing-heat samādhi.

Eighth, existence in southern Jambudvīpa is broken through the illusion-like samādhi. Recompense in the southern continent is complex and uncertain in lifespan and other matters, like an illusion. Mind conjures karma, views and thought, ignorance of particulars, and fundamental ignorance.

To break every illusion, the bodhisattva conjures non-constructed discipline from the keeping of discipline and breaks the illusions of affliction and karma; conjures the liberations from concentration; conjures the uncontaminated from arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom; conjures the contaminated from immeasurable wisdom; and conjures what is neither contaminated nor uncontaminated from non-constructed wisdom. When the illusion of views and thought is broken, the illusion of the real truth is accomplished. When the illusion of ignorance of particulars is broken, the illusion of the conventional truth is accomplished. When the illusion of fundamental ignorance is broken, the illusion of the middle way is accomplished. Thus the scripture says that the Tathāgata is a great illusionist.

If sentient beings in Jambudvīpa have conditions corresponding to the vows, the bodhisattva responds according to stimulus through original compassion. Breaking every illusion oneself and also accomplishing for others the corresponding function of illusory transformation is called the illusion-like samādhi. The remaining four layers are as above.

Ninth, existence among the Four Heavenly Kings is broken through the immovable samādhi. The Four Heavenly Kings guard the lands and travel through the world; they have movement as karmic recompense and movement of views and thought, dust-like ignorance, and fundamental ignorance. The bodhisattva cultivates all practices, breaks every movement, and accomplishes samādhi. Vows perfume others; when sentient beings’ conditions evoke a response, original compassion enables them to break the four movements and accomplish the three kinds of immovability—empty, provisional, and middle. It is therefore called the immovable samādhi. Details follow the preceding pattern.

Tenth, existence in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three is broken through the difficult-to-subdue samādhi. This is the highest of the earth-dwelling heavens. Its recompense is difficult to subdue, and it also has views and thought, dust-like ignorance, and fundamental ignorance that are difficult to subdue. The bodhisattva cultivates all practices, goes beyond them, breaks the various things difficult to subdue, and personally accomplishes samādhi. Vows also perfume others. When conditions are present, original compassion enables others to realize it, and it is therefore called the difficult-to-subdue samādhi. The rest is as above.

Eleventh, existence in Yāma Heaven is broken through the pleasing samādhi. This heaven dwells in space and has no combat with blades or clubs, and is therefore called pleasing. Yet this is only the pleasantness of recompense; it does not possess pleasure in immovable karma, uncontaminated wisdom, knowledge of paths, or wisdom of the middle way. To break every displeasure, the bodhisattva cultivates all practices and accomplishes the pleasing samādhis of the three truths. Vows perfume the Dharma realm; when sentient beings have conditions, original compassion brings pleasure to their minds. It is therefore called the pleasing samādhi. The rest is as above.

Twelfth, existence in Tuṣita Heaven is broken through the blue samādhi. Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha said that this heaven’s recompense delights in blue: palaces, clothes, objects of play, and everything else are blue. To break every blue, the bodhisattva cultivates ultimate meaning. Ultimate meaning is neither blue, yellow, red, nor white, yet can manifest blue, yellow, red, and white. Ultimate meaning is neither discipline, concentration, nor wisdom, yet can fully possess discipline, concentration, and wisdom.

Discipline breaks the blue of recompense; arising-and-ceasing and non-arising wisdom break the blue of views and thought. Seeing the real while not being real, seeing the provisional while not being provisional, and seeing the middle while not being the middle follow the same pattern. When the three blue obstructions are broken, the bodhisattva personally accomplishes the three-blue samādhis of real, conventional, and middle; responsive accomplishment of others’ samādhis is understood according to the preceding examples.

Thirteenth, the yellow samādhi breaks existence in Nirmāṇarati Heaven. Fourteenth, the red samādhi breaks existence in Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven. Fifteenth, the white samādhi breaks existence in the first dhyāna. All three take color names first from their corresponding recompenses; yellow and red can be understood from the general meaning of the blue samādhi.

In the white samādhi, the first dhyāna is called white because it has left the five desires. Because it has not yet left initial and sustained thought, black remains. There are also the blacknesses of views and thought, dust-like ignorance, and fundamental ignorance. To break every blackness, the bodhisattva cultivates all white practices, personally accomplishes the samādhis of the three truths, and accomplishes samādhi for others, as explained above.

Sixteenth, the manifold samādhi breaks existence as King Brahmā. King Brahmā rules a great-thousand world-system containing many kinds of sentient beings. This is merely the manifold of recompense and has not yet seen manifold emptiness, provisional existence, or middle. The bodhisattva breaks these manifolds, cultivates manifold practices of the three truths, personally accomplishes the manifold samādhi, and accomplishes the manifold samādhi for others, as above.

Seventeenth, existence in the second dhyāna is broken through the paired samādhi. Only the second dhyāna has the two unique factors of inner purity and joy; the other factors are shared with the other dhyānas, making the pair of recompense. It has not yet seen paired emptiness, provisional existence, or middle. Breaking, cultivation, personal accomplishment, and accomplishment for others all follow the preceding pattern.

Eighteenth, existence in the third dhyāna is broken through the thunder-sound samādhi. The pleasure of the third dhyāna is deepest, and beings sink into it like fish beneath ice or insects hibernating in winter. First there is attachment to the pleasure of recompense; there is also attachment to the pleasures of emptiness, provisional existence, and the middle. To awaken all attachment to pleasure, the bodhisattva cultivates thunder-sound practice. The rest is as above.

Nineteenth, existence in the fourth dhyāna is broken through the pouring-rain samādhi. The fourth dhyāna is like the earth, fully holding many seeds. Without rain, sprouts cannot grow. Every wholesome root is present within the fourth dhyāna, including karmic seeds and seeds of the three truths. The bodhisattva cultivates rain of every practice and personally gives rise to samādhi, then follows capacities through compassion and enables others to give rise to samādhi.

Twentieth, existence in the Heaven of Nonperception is broken through the space-like samādhi. What non-Buddhists attain is not truly empty, but they deludedly regard it as nirvāṇa. They regard recompense as nonempty and do not know that the real, conventional, and middle truths all avoid annihilative nothingness. The bodhisattva cultivates every empty and pure practice, accomplishing it for self and others.

Twenty-first, existence in the Nonreturners’ Heavens is broken through the mirror-illumination samādhi. These are uncontaminated noble heavens. Although they attain pure form, it remains only the pure form of recompense. They have not exhausted form as immediately empty, like a mirror not completely bright; do not know form as immediately provisional, like a mirror not yet reflecting images; and do not know form as immediately the middle, like not yet penetrating the perfection of the mirror’s substance. The rest is as above.

Twenty-second, existence in the sphere of space is broken through the unobstructed samādhi. This concentration leaves the cage of the form realm and is unobstructed only in recompense, not yet possessing the nonobstruction of the empty, provisional, and middle truths. The rest is as above.

Twenty-third, existence in the sphere of consciousness is broken through the permanence samādhi. This concentration regards the uninterrupted continuity of consciousness as permanent. This is only the permanence of concentrated recompense, not the unconditioned permanence of the real truth, the permanence of transformative function in the conventional truth, or permanence and happiness in the middle way. The rest is as above.

Twenty-fourth, existence in the “sphere of non-use” (不用處) is broken through the happiness samādhi. This sphere is like delusion and is therefore suffering; even the suffering of fundamental ignorance is present. The bodhisattva breaks it through the happiness of the three truths. The rest is as above.

Twenty-fifth, existence in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception is broken through the self samādhi. The highest heaven regards its own state as the recompense of nirvāṇa, yet subtle afflictions remain and prevent sovereignty, continuing through the lack of sovereignty of fundamental ignorance. The bodhisattva cultivates to break it and attains the true self, a self conforming to convention, and the self of permanence and happiness. The rest is as above.

Why Are All Twenty-Five Called Kings of Samādhis?

All twenty-five are called samādhi because samādhi straightens and regulates the mind and makes concentration secure and correct. The real truth straightens through emptiness and the uncontaminated; emerging into the provisional straightens by corresponding with capacities; the middle way straightens by stopping the extremes of emptiness and existence. Thus each possesses the three truths and is generally called samādhi.

They are also called kings because the straightening of emptiness and provisional existence cannot yet be called king. The two vehicles’ entry into emptiness and the bodhisattva’s emergence into the provisional do not make a Dharma king; only the middle way’s straightening is king. Every samādhi possesses the middle way and is therefore called a king.

The Great Sutra calls the twenty-five samādhis kings of samādhis, showing their supreme position. It also says that when one enters such a samādhi, all samādhis enter within it, showing the breadth of their substance. Their capacity to respond to sentient beings throughout the twenty-five modes of existence shows their far-reaching function.

The ground of fearlessness fully possesses the varied powers and functions of the twenty-five samādhis. One can place Mount Sumeru inside a mustard seed without harming the trees and place the ocean inside a pore without disturbing turtles or fish. Though physically in hell, body and mind feel no pain. Transforming, appearing, and disappearing freely, reaching distant places without leaving Dharma-nature, precisely reveal the wondrous meaning. This power exists only after noble practice in wisdom is accomplished.

Someone asks: breaking the twenty-five modes of existence through samādhi is originally wording from the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. Why may it be used to explain the Lotus Sūtra?

The answer is that Fascicle Three of the Lotus Sūtra says that the Dharma king who breaks existence appears in the world and teaches the Dharma according to the desires of sentient beings. The four meanings—world, persons, counteraction, and ultimate meaning—are plainly all present. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra speaks of a bodhisattva breaking existence, while this scripture speaks of a Dharma king breaking existence, making the meaning still clearer. Noble practice in wisdom ends here.

Section Eight · Brahmā Practice: Removing Suffering and Giving Happiness through Objectless Compassion

Second is brahmā practice. Brahmā means pure. Attaining realization apart from craving and views at the extremes of emptiness and existence is called purity. Giving this pure Dharma to sentient beings and removing their suffering is objectless kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.

With the mind of great nirvāṇa, a bodhisattva cultivates noble practice, attains the ground of fearlessness, and fully possesses the unrestricted great functions of the twenty-five samādhis. Only this compassion is true brahmā practice. It is not the four immeasurable minds cultivated by Brahmā gods of the form realm, nor the compassion based on sentient beings and dharmas cultivated in the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings. When all practices are perfumed by this kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, no practice remains unaccomplished.

The Great Sutra says that if someone asks what is the root of all wholesome dharmas, one should answer that kindness is the root. Because kindness is the root of every practice, it is called brahmā practice. In the language of the Perfect Teaching, the Great Sutra further says that kindness is the Tathāgata and kindness is buddha-nature. Kindness that does not possess the Buddha’s ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and thirty-two marks is only a śrāvaka’s kindness. Kindness possessing them all is the Tathāgata’s kindness. Such kindness is the great collection of dharmas and great nirvāṇa. Its power is vast and profound and possesses every adornment of merit; it is therefore called brahmā practice.

Section Nine · Heavenly Practice: Ultimate Principle Becoming Realized Practice

Third is heavenly practice. Ultimate meaning is called heaven because it is natural principle. Before cultivation, heaven is principle. During cultivation, practice is formed from principle. After cultivation, practice reveals principle. Here, practice formed from principle during cultivation is taken and called heavenly practice.

Although a bodhisattva has entered the first ground, the bodhisattva should not remain there, because attainment is still present. The bodhisattva continues to cultivate the wisdom of the ten grounds above; ten levels give rise to the wisdom of real cultivation. Practice formed from principle is called heavenly practice. Heavenly practice is the adornment of wisdom. Noble and heavenly practices seek the buddha path above; brahmā, illness, and infant practices transform sentient beings below.

Section Ten · Infant and Illness Practices: Kindness Shares the Good, Compassion Shares Illness

Fourth is infant practice. As a bodhisattva’s merit and wisdom gradually grow, the true mark becomes increasingly manifest. Even without deliberately contriving benefit for sentient beings, two kinds of benefit—hidden and manifest—arise naturally. The power of heavenly practice brings hidden benefit; the power of brahmā practice brings manifest benefit. Although sentient beings may already have capacities consisting of slight wholesome roots, without a bodhisattva’s development those roots still cannot grow.

The power of wholesome roots of kindness is like a magnet attracting iron. A bodhisattva softens radiance, shares the dust, and performs beneficial practices, allowing sentient beings to see the bodhisattva beginning with them as a beginner. The bodhisattva first manifests as cultivating the five precepts and ten wholesome acts in common, attaining human and heavenly recompense, and performing a small good like a willow leaf. The bodhisattva then manifests as cultivating the two hundred and fifty precepts, contemplating, refining, perfuming, and cultivating, the four truths, twelve links of conditioned arising, and thirty-seven factors in common with the infant practice of the two vehicles. The bodhisattva manifests as cultivating the six perfections over three incalculable eons, cultivating the marks for a hundred eons, and gently subduing afflictions in common with the small goods of a Tripiṭaka Teaching bodhisattva cultivating the six perfections. The bodhisattva manifests form as immediately empty and as neither arising nor ceasing, in common with the Shared Teaching’s small goods; and separately successive stages and a resemblance of the middle way, in common with the Distinct Teaching’s small goods.

All this is the power of the mind of kindness. The bodhisattva stoops to become the same as each kind of beginner and supports and guides them to accomplishment. Giving happiness through kindness gives rise to infant practice.

The Great Sutra says that an infant can pronounce the great syllables, namely ba and he. This means seeking buddhahood while sharing the small practices of the six perfections; they are therefore called great syllables. It further says that an infant does not see such marks as day and night or close and distant relations. This shares the Shared Teaching bodhisattva’s meaning of form as immediately empty. It also says that an infant cannot perform great or small affairs: great affairs are the five heinous deeds, while small affairs are the mind of the two vehicles. This shares the Distinct Teaching. The Distinct Teaching does not abide in birth and death and therefore has no five heinous deeds; it does not abide in nirvāṇa and therefore has no Lesser Vehicle mind.

The scripture also says that parents use a yellow willow leaf to quiet an infant. This shares the infant practice of the five precepts and ten wholesome acts among humans and gods. It says that what is not the path is taught as the path because it can produce a slight condition for the path. This shares the infant practice of the two vehicles. The power of wholesome roots of kindness can emerge into the provisional to transform sentient beings, manifest the same varied skillful means of small goods, and then lead them into Buddha-wisdom, becoming the Perfect Teaching’s infant practice. The scripture further says that an infant cannot rise or remain, come or go, or speak. The rest is as taught in the scripture. Judging the coarse and wondrous and opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous in infant practice are also understood according to the preceding pattern.

Fifth is illness practice, arising from objectless great compassion. As soon as sentient beings begin to produce a small good, the bodhisattva has a corresponding illness practice. Sharing sentient beings’ production of the good is here called infant practice; sharing their afflictions is called illness practice. Because sentient beings are ill, great compassion perfumes the mind, and the bodhisattva therefore says, “I too am ill.”

Sometimes a bodhisattva plays in hell, takes the form of an animal, or transforms into a hungry ghost. These share the illness of sentient beings’ evil karma, as Devadatta and others manifest. The bodhisattva also manifests parents, spouse, and children; undergoes the iron lance and horse fodder; asks for clothing when a cold wind blows; and asks for milk during a fever. These manifest the illnesses of affliction, karma, birth, aging, illness, and death that occur among humans and gods.

The bodhisattva further manifests using thirty-four moments of mind to sever the bonds at the place of awakening, sharing the illness of views and thought of the two vehicles, drawing near through skillful means, and urging diligent work. Bodhisattvas of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings do the same. The bodhisattva also shares the Distinct Teaching’s place of quiescent cessation and its initial severing of dust-like and fundamental ignorance. The bodhisattva therefore universally shares the various illnesses of sentient beings, pervades the Dharma realm, and benefits them. The sequential five practices end here.

Section Eleven · How the Grounds Realized by the Sequential Five Practices Interpenetrate

Someone asks: noble practice realizes three grounds and brahmā practice two. Why are separate realized grounds not taught for heavenly, illness, and infant practices?

The answer is that noble and brahmā practices are cultivated causes, and so the grounds they realize must be stated. Heavenly practice is itself precisely what is realized. Illness and infant practices arise from the fruit as responsive transformation, and so no separate grounds of realization are taught.

Another explanation is that when the scripture reveals the meaning of the Distinct Teaching, each practice separately enters realization before the grounds. When it reveals the Perfect Teaching, entry into the grounds is one shared realization. It is not that the perfect is entirely uncultivated before the grounds or that distinction is entirely absent after entering a ground. The two sides illuminate one another and make understanding easier, so no fuller explanation is given.

When distinction is revealed before the grounds, practice in discipline realizes the ground of immovability as it advances from shallow to deep; practice in concentration realizes the ground of forbearance; and practice in wisdom realizes the ground of fearlessness. After entry into a ground, the three grounds do not remain permanently separate. At entry, one is unmoved by either extreme and is called the ground of immovability. Receiving the Buddha-Dharma above and bearing sentient beings below is called the ground of forbearance. Being sovereign in both birth and death and nirvāṇa is called the ground of fearlessness.

The ground of fearlessness is named from the virtue of self, the ground of forbearance from happiness, and the ground of immovability from permanence; the virtue of purity extends through all three. On the day of entry into a ground, the four virtues of permanence, happiness, self, and purity are accomplished simultaneously without increase or decrease. Their division into three grounds is only required by the method of teaching, like the story of three in the morning and four at night: the numbers differ in speech, but what is gained does not.

After entry, every ground has self-practice and self-realization. Self-practice is cultivation of heavenly practice; self-realization is realization of heavenly practice. No separate ground is therefore taught for heavenly practice. Transforming others before the grounds is called brahmā practice. Kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy are its concrete practices of transforming others, and their realization is the ground of the only child. Equanimity is its principial practice of transformation, and its realization is the ground of equality with emptiness. These two grounds are not completely separate either: compassion upon entry is called the only child, and compassion’s identity with substance is called equality with emptiness.

Every ground compassionately shares evil, which is called illness practice, and every ground kindly shares the good, which is called infant practice. The path realized is the same, so no separate grounds are taught. The qualities of buddhahood can only be reverently trusted; how could an unclear mind forcibly impose fixed distinctions upon them? This briefly answers the question.

Fahua Xuanyi, Fascicle Four, Part One ends here.

Fahua Xuanyi, Fascicle Four, Part Two, attributed as spoken by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai.

Section Twelve · The Perfect Five Practices: Five Practices Complete in One Mind

The perfect five practices are as the Great Sutra teaches: there is one further practice that is the Tathāgata’s practice, namely, the Great Vehicle, great parinirvāṇa. The Great Vehicle is the perfect cause and nirvāṇa the perfect fruit. This one practice marks the Tathāgata’s practice, not the other six perfections or practices of the Shared and Distinct Teachings.

Although preceding practices were also called the Great Vehicle, they could not perfectly carry all. Although preceding attainments were also called nirvāṇa, something could still be said after passing the graph 茶 (cha); they were only bodhisattva practices and could not be called the Tathāgata’s one practice.

True perfect practice perfectly possesses the ten Dharma realms; one vehicle is every vehicle, and only then is it called the Great Vehicle. This is riding the Buddha Vehicle and is therefore called the Tathāgata’s practice. The meaning of the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom is that from the first arousal of resolve a bodhisattva constantly contemplates nirvāṇa while practicing the path. The meaning of the Large Prajñāpāramitā is that from the first arousal of resolve a bodhisattva practices, produces, and cultivates, and even when seated at the place of awakening still practices, produces, and cultivates. The ultimate and initial resolves do not differ. All these reveal the meaning of the Tathāgata’s practice.

The Lotus Sūtra teaches the Practices of Ease. Ease is nirvāṇa, the perfect fruit; practice is the perfect cause and shares nirvāṇa’s meaning, and it is therefore called the Tathāgata’s practice. Entering the Tathāgata’s room, putting on the Tathāgata’s robe, and sitting on the Tathāgata’s seat all speak of the Tathāgata in terms of a person, while nirvāṇa speaks in terms of a dharma. When the Dharma is explained in terms of the person, the Tathāgata is nirvāṇa. When the person is explained in terms of the Dharma, nirvāṇa is the Tathāgata. The two scriptures share the same meaning.

The Nirvāṇa Sūtra names the one Tathāgata practice but broadly explains the sequential five practices. The Lotus Sūtra marks the Practices of Ease and broadly explains perfect interfusion. Here the Lotus Sūtra is used to explain the perfect five practices.

When the five practices are complete without lack in one mind, they are called the Tathāgata’s practice. What the scripture calls adorning oneself with the Tathāgata’s adornment is perfect noble practice. The Tathāgata’s room is perfect brahmā practice. The Tathāgata’s seat is perfect heavenly practice. The Tathāgata’s robe has the two aspects of gentleness and forbearance: gentleness is perfect infant practice and forbearance perfect illness practice.

These five practices are the one practice of the true mark. One practice does not produce five other practices, and the five do not produce another one. They neither merge into a mass nor separate from one another. They are inconceivable and are therefore called the one-five practice.

How Adornment, Room, Seat, and Robe Become the Five Practices

Why is adornment called noble practice? The scripture says to keep the Buddha’s pure discipline; the Buddha’s discipline is perfect discipline. It also says to penetrate deeply the marks of offense and merit and illuminate the ten directions everywhere. Only seeing the true mark in offense as itself merit is called deep penetration. Leaving the ten disturbances through the mind of the true mark is all perfect discipline.

The scripture further says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle and, in accord with the Dharma he has attained, is adorned by the power of concentration and wisdom. These are the Buddha’s adornments of concentration and wisdom and are therefore called the Buddha’s noble practice.

Why is the Tathāgata’s room called brahmā practice? Objectless compassion can serve as the support of the whole Dharma realm, like a magnet universally attracting iron, so that no sentient being fails to turn toward it. It further guides them through universal vows, supernormal powers, and wisdom and causes them to abide in this Dharma. The Tathāgata’s room is therefore brahmā practice.

Why is the Tathāgata’s seat called heavenly practice? Ultimate-meaning heaven is the wondrous principle of the true mark, the teacher of the buddhas and the shared dwelling of all tathāgatas. The scripture says to contemplate all dharmas as empty, neither moved nor regressing, and not to discriminate upper, middle, or lower dharmas, conditioned or unconditioned, real or unreal. The Tathāgata’s seat is therefore heavenly practice.

Why is the Tathāgata’s robe infant and illness practice? Forbearance simultaneously blocks the extremes of agitation and quiescence, while gentleness simultaneously illuminates the real and conventional truths. The scripture speaks of becoming lowly and enduring this matter, and of removing one’s jeweled necklace and putting on a worn and filthy garment; this shares illness practice. It also speaks of drawing near through skillful means; this shares infant practice.

It may also be contemplated in this way. Contemplating all ten Dharma realms as quiescent cessation is the Tathāgata’s seat and heavenly practice. Arousing compassion to remove suffering in nine Dharma realms and kindness to give happiness in one is brahmā practice. Illuminating the nature and marks of good through gentleness is infant practice; illuminating the nature and marks of evil is illness practice. Illuminating the nature and marks of good is also discipline, while being quiescent yet constantly illuminating is concentration and wisdom, namely, noble practice. Thus one mind illuminating the ten Dharma realms fully possesses the perfect five practices.

Five Practices in One Mind and Samādhis of the Three Truths

The five practices in one mind are also the samādhis of the three truths. Noble practice is the samādhi of the real truth. Brahmā, infant, and illness practices are the samādhi of the conventional truth. Heavenly practice is the king samādhi of the middle way.

The perfectly interfused three samādhis can also perfectly break the twenty-five modes of existence. Because they are immediately empty, they break evil karma, views, and thought in the twenty-five modes. Because they are immediately provisionally existent, they break ignorance of particulars. Because they are immediately the middle, they break fundamental ignorance. They are immediately one and three and three and one. One emptiness is all emptiness, one provisional existence all provisional existence, and one middle all middle. They are therefore called the Tathāgata’s practice.

Further, the Tathāgata’s room invisibly perfumes the Dharma realm. The power of wholesome roots of kindness does not move from the limit of reality yet softens radiance and shares the dust. Responding through the compassion of illness practice, it manifests various bodies, appearing deaf or mute, and teaches various dharmas, appearing mad or foolish. When sentient beings have capacities to produce wholesome roots, it responds through the compassion of infant practice and manifests the skillful means of ba and he, wooden oxen, and willow leaves.

When there is a capacity for entering emptiness, it compassionately responds through noble practice, manifesting one who carries a vessel of excrement and bears a fearful appearance. When there is a capacity for entering the provisional, it compassionately responds through brahmā practice. The power of wholesome roots of kindness sees corresponding events, from sitting on a lion throne with feet supported by a jeweled table to manifesting as a merchant traveling throughout other lands, coming and going in pursuit of benefit. There is nowhere it is absent.

When there is a capacity for entering the middle, it compassionately responds through heavenly practice, like a swift horse that sees the shadow of a whip and runs on a broad, straight road without stagnation or obstruction. Perfect response therefore has no fixed before or after, is neither simultaneous nor mutually separate, and teaches the nondiscriminating Dharma—that all dharmas from the beginning have always themselves borne the mark of quiescent cessation. It is also like the asura’s lute, which no fixed person plays yet which sounds in response to stimulus.

Gradual entry into the Perfect Teaching is as explained before; sudden entry is as explained here. After entry into the perfect, realization is equal and no longer differs. The power of wholesome roots of kindness lets those entering gradually or suddenly see corresponding teachings only to reveal the difference between the initial entrances of the Distinct and Perfect Teachings.

Illuminating the Perfect Five Practices Again through the Preceding Gates of Objects and Wisdom

The perfect five practices are also practices guided by wisdom of the four kinds of twelvefold conditioned arising. Purity of inconceivable consciousness, name-and-form, and the others is noble practice in discipline. Purity of formations, existence, and the others is noble practice in concentration. Purity of fundamental ignorance, craving, and the others is noble practice in wisdom. The quiescent cessation of the twelve links together with absence of the preceding three kinds of conditioned arising is heavenly practice. The capacity to share the cessation of the preceding three is infant practice, and the capacity to share their arising is illness practice.

The perfect five practices are also practices guided by wisdom of the four kinds of four truths. The path of the non-constructed is noble practice in discipline, concentration, and wisdom. Cessation of the non-constructed is heavenly practice. Removing suffering through compassion—removing four kinds of suffering and giving four kinds of happiness—is brahmā practice. Explained only through compassion, it is illness practice; explained only through kindness, infant practice.

The perfect five practices are also practices guided by wisdom of the seven kinds of two truths. Skillful means within the perfect real is noble practice, while the principle of the perfect real is heavenly practice. Compassion for seven kinds of conventional and kindness giving seven kinds of good is brahmā practice. Sharing the seven conventional is illness practice, and sharing the seven real is infant practice.

The perfect five practices are also practices guided by wisdom of the five kinds of three truths. Good within the conventional truth is noble practice in discipline. Dhyāna within the real truth is noble practice in concentration, and wisdom within the real truth is noble practice in wisdom. The truth of the middle is heavenly practice. Removing five kinds of conventional suffering and giving the happiness of five kinds of real and the middle is brahmā practice. Sharing the five conventional is illness practice; sharing the five real and the middle is infant practice.

The perfect five practices are also practices guided by wisdom of the one real truth. The one real truth has path-born discipline, concentration, and wisdom; these are noble practice. The one real object is heavenly practice. Compassion of identical substance spoken together is brahmā practice; kindness and compassion spoken separately are infant and illness practices.

Section Thirteen · Contemplating the Perfect Five Practices in Mind and the Final Question and Answer

The perfect practices explained above need not be sought far away; they are this present mind. The nature of ease is fully present in all dharmas. Contemplating the original nature of mind is called the highest concentration. Mind-nature is immediately empty, provisionally existent, and the middle. The five practices, three truths, and all buddha-dharmas are immediately fully present through mind.

Beginners who can already practice the Tathāgata’s practice in this way should be offered gifts as the Tathāgata is offered gifts. Whichever direction they travel, one should bow toward them; wherever they go, one should raise a stūpa for them, because they already possess the relic of the whole body. If this is so for the initial resolve, how much more for resembling understanding? How much more for entry into the stage of abiding?

The meaning of the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra is that all dhyānas arise from self-nature dhyāna. All dhyānas are of three kinds. First is dhyāna of present-life happiness, which is empty wisdom of the true mark and the samādhi of the middle way. Second is dhyāna producing all lineage samāpattis, including the liberations, superior entries, and the like of the two vehicles; it is the samādhi of the real truth. Third is dhyāna benefiting sentient beings, which is the samādhi of the conventional truth.

Know that the five practices and three truths are fully accomplished in all dhyānas. This is the stage of partial realization at the first abode. Upon entering this stage, no dharma is not buddha-dharma. This is practice of the perfect mind; how could it share the meaning of the preceding sequential five practices? Sequential practice is coarse, while one practice possessing all practices is wondrous; this is relational wondrousness. When the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous and no fixed coarse remains to serve as contrast, it is the absolute subtlety of practice.

Someone asks: the Lotus Sūtra has already opened the coarse and revealed the wondrous, and every coarse practice has entered the wondrous. Why does the Nirvāṇa Sūtra again teach the sequential five practices?

The answer is that the Lotus Sūtra broke attachment to provisional dharmas for people during the Buddha’s lifetime and brought them into the real. At that time no fixed coarse dharma remained, and the intent of the teaching was complete. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra, however, was taught for ordinary beings of the latter age. Their illnesses of views and thought are grave; they fixedly grasp the one real and revile skillful means. Although drinking ambrosia, they cannot immediately see the real within concrete affairs, and because they do not know how to take the medicine they injure their lives and die early. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra therefore supports discipline, concentration, and wisdom and reveals great nirvāṇa. Consequently, one who grasps the meaning of the Lotus Sūtra need not employ an additional sequence of practices in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra.

Why Explain the Subtlety of Stages?

Fourth is the subtlety of stages. Once the principle of truth has been perfectly integrated, complete wisdom is unobstructed; when wisdom guides practice, practice becomes wondrous. The three meanings of object, wisdom, and practice have now been disclosed, and substance, purport, and function are complete. Stages must nevertheless be explained because a stage is a level traversed by practice.

Stages differ as provisional and real and are distributed among many scriptures and treatises. The stages classified by the Satyasiddhiśāstra and Abhidharma do not extend their discourse to the Great Vehicle. Treatises such as the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra and Mahāyānasaṃgraha each separately describe one route and do not encompass every dimension. Among vaipulya scriptures, the Bodhisattva’s Necklace of the Primary Practice distinguishes shallow and deep stages. Among prajñā scriptures, the Humane Kings Sūtra discusses higher and lower stages at length but still does not reveal their distinction as coarse and wondrous. The present scripture does not explicitly arrange the names of stages, yet its meaning encompasses both Lesser and Great Vehicles and broadly distinguishes provisional and real stages. Because the Sanskrit text was not translated in full, the complete scripture must originally have contained such material.

“The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs” chapter now reveals only six stages. Its meaning is that wheel-turning sage kings, Śakra, Brahmā, and other rulers are small medicinal herbs; those who know uncontaminated dharmas, can attain nirvāṇa, dwell alone in mountain forests, and realize pratyekabuddhahood are middle medicinal herbs; those who seek the World-Honored One’s presence, vow that they themselves will become buddhas, and practice diligent concentration are superior medicinal herbs; buddha-children who concentrate on the buddha path, constantly practice compassion, and know without doubt that they will become buddhas are small trees; and those who abide in supernormal powers, turn the nonretrogressive Dharma wheel, and liberate immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of beings are great trees. The prose statement that all are born from one ground and moistened by one rain, together with the later statement that the Buddha will now explain the most-real matter, is then taken as the sixth stage.

The first three grasses represent stages within the Tripiṭaka Teaching. The small tree represents Shared-Teaching stages, the great tree Distinct-Teaching stages, and the most-real matter the stages of the Perfect Teaching.

Small-Grass Stages: The Human and Heavenly Vehicles

The small-grass stages are the human and heavenly vehicles. A wheel-turning king holds the stage of a ruler among humans, while Śakra and Brahmā hold the stages of rulers among gods. All are described as stages according to the recompense obtained. Since results are superior or inferior, the causes cultivated must likewise be deep or shallow.

Human Stages

The cultivated cause of human stages is keeping the five precepts, broadly divided into four grades. Keeping them at the lower grade brings the recompense of an iron wheel-turning king who rules one continent. The middle grade brings a copper wheel-turning king who rules two; the higher grade, a silver wheel-turning king who rules three; and the highest grade, a gold wheel-turning king who rules four. All keep discipline with a scattered mind and also compassionately encourage others to cultivate merit. They are therefore reborn as human rulers and flying sovereigns. The four quarters submit to their virtue, and numinous treasures naturally appear in response to their recompense.

General Causes of Heavenly Stages

The common cause for the heavenly vehicle is cultivating the ten wholesome paths until they become naturally pure and mature. Additional cultivation of meditative concentration permits ascent to higher realms. Since the results among gods of the three realms differ in height, the causes cultivated must also differ in depth.

The Sūtra of Mindfulness of the Right Dharma says that sixty thousand mountains surround Mount Sumeru and that the Garland-Bearing Gods dwell on its four slopes. They have ten abodes, each one thousand yojanas in extent: four in the north and two in each of the other directions.

The first southern abode is called White Maṇi. If persons take the three refuges for the brief span of ten hand-claps without mixing in any other thought, they are born there and enjoy bliss. Even sixteen times the pleasure of a wheel-turning king does not equal one of its pleasures, and every pleasurable provision flows from its mountains and rivers. The second is called Lofty Cliff. Its beings once built bridges and boats at river crossings, conveyed people who kept discipline, also aided others, and committed no evils. Their recompense can be understood accordingly.

The first western abode is called Fruit-Life. Its beings once kept pure discipline during a famine, purified body, speech, and mind, and planted fruit trees for travelers to eat, so they now receive a recompense filled with ease and delight. The second is called White Merit. Its beings once scattered flower garlands over the Buddha and stūpas.

The first eastern abode is called Universal Joy. Its beings once offered flowers to persons who kept discipline and to the Buddha, earning wealth by their own effort and using it to buy the flowers. Their recompense can be understood accordingly. The second is called Practicing the Path. Its beings once saw a great fire arise and burn sentient beings and extinguished it with water; the remaining recompenses follow by analogy.

There are four northern abodes. The first, called Desire and Affection, arises from having seen another’s relatives or friends divided, reconciled the parties, and settled their dispute. The second, called Delight in Objects, arises from having attended a Dharma assembly. The third, called Stirring of Mind, arises from having supported the saṅgha and swept a stūpa with pure faith, planting merit in an excellent field purified by faith. The fourth, called Forest of Play, arises from having kept discipline with faith and given robes to the saṅgha. Even if the gift was only the value of a single fruit toward the price of a robe, they delighted and rejoiced in the merit.

The Ten Abodes of the Kālupāda Gods

Next are the Kālupāda Gods, whose name means Elephant Tracks. They also have ten abodes.

The first is called Traveling through Lotuses. Its beings once perfumed their minds by keeping discipline, took the three refuges, and recited homage to the Buddha. Even the sound of bees in this heaven surpasses those of other heavens; how much more so its remaining recompenses.

The second is called Joy of the Excellent Bee. Its cause was keeping discipline in faith, benefiting sentient beings with compassion, and offering flowers, incense, and music at buddha stūpas.

The third is called Wondrous Sound. Its cause was offering a jeweled canopy to the Buddha.

The fourth is called Fragrant Delight. Its cause was keeping discipline in faith and applying incense to a buddha stūpa.

The fifth is called Wind-Traveling. Its cause was keeping discipline in faith and giving fans to the saṅgha so that others obtained coolness.

Sixth, every fragrant celestial wind comes and perfumes them, each fragrance increasing many times over. If fragrant wind is already like this, how much more the wind recalled in thought, which is obtained whenever remembered.

The sixth abode is called Joy of Scattered Flowers. Its cause was seeing a person who kept discipline recite the precepts and offering a washing vessel, or filling such a vessel with clean water along a road and giving it for others to use.

The seventh is called Universal Observation. Its cause was perfuming the mind with wholesome dharmas in relation to people who kept discipline and, when people who broke discipline fell ill, seeking no repayment but providing ease from compassion, tirelessly supporting the sick.

The eighth is called Constant Joy. Its cause was seeing an offender facing execution and using wealth to ransom the person’s life and secure release.

The ninth is called Fragrant Medicine. Its cause was offering powdered and paste incense with a pure mind in the great field of merit formed by those who keep discipline and trust the Three Treasures. The wealth was acquired in accord with Dharma, and after giving it they rejoiced in the good.

The tenth is called Juntou. Its cause was seeing someone condemned by a king, with the hair bound for execution, and rescuing that person.

The Ten Abodes of the Constantly Unrestrained Gods

The third heaven is called Constantly Unrestrained and also has ten abodes.

The first is called Peak of Joy. Its beings once protected a sacred tree and trees on which yakṣas depended. When the tree remained, the yakṣas were happy; when it was lost, they suffered.

The second is called Color of the Blue Lotus. Its cause was keeping discipline with pure faith, supporting the Three Treasures, and constructing a pond of blue lotuses.

The third is called White Lotus. Its cause was constructing a pond of white lotuses.

The fourth is called Colorful Ground. Its cause was using pure faith to dye and prepare monastic robes and dye Dharma garments in many colors.

The fifth is called Citrā, meaning Variegated Ground. Its cause was giving many kinds of food to persons who kept discipline and did not transgress it.

The sixth is called Mountain Summit. Its cause was building dwellings that sheltered people from wind and cold and could be used by them.

The seventh is called Madhu, meaning Beautiful Ground. Its cause was keeping discipline, being compassionate and upright, and not harming others, while offering food to śramaṇas and brahmans who practiced the path for one day, many days, or continuously.

The eighth is called Sphere of Desire. Its cause was keeping discipline and, when a person holding wrong views fell ill, giving whatever would make the patient comfortable.

The ninth is called Coolness. Its cause was seeing a dying person afflicted by thirst and giving the patient a drink of rock sugar or cool water.

The tenth is called Constant Play. Its cause was building a dwelling for meditators and painting images for contemplation of corpses.

The Ten Abodes of the Harp Gods

The fourth is called the Harp Gods and likewise has ten abodes.

The first is called Gandhāra. Its cause was giving parks and orchards of sugarcane, mangoes, and other fruits to the saṅgha.

The second is called Responsive Sound. Its cause was speaking one Dharma verse to a person with wrong views, making that person’s mind pure and faithful in the Buddha.

The third is called Joy and Delight. Its cause was giving people delicious drinks or clean, pleasant water and covering springs and wells so that insects did not fall in and travelers could drink without distress.

The fourth is called Cupped Water. Its cause was seeing an ill and suffering person near death, hearing urgent sounds from the throat, giving the person a drink, and using wealth to ransom that life.

The fifth is called White Body. Its cause was coating, repairing, and restoring buddha stūpas and monastic dwellings and teaching others to repair them as well.

The sixth is called Playing Together. Its cause was keeping discipline in faith and living together in concord of Dharma and meaning with companions in the same teaching.

The seventh is called Delighting in Play. Its cause was keeping discipline and teaching sentient beings so that their minds became pure and faithful and they rejoiced in discipline and generosity.

The eighth is called Traveling Together. Its cause was hearing Dharma at assemblies, helping organize them, and rejoicing deeply.

The ninth is called Transformation-Born. Its cause was seeing people suffering famine or drowning and rescuing them.

The tenth is called Right Conduct. Its cause was seeing persons encounter flight, ruin, or pillage and rescuing them, while showing the right road through dangerous places.

Sun-Traversing Gods and the Six Heavens of Desire

Next are the sun-traversing gods, who circle Mount Sumeru and dwell in palaces. Outsiders describe them as the sun, planets, and constellations and broadly count 3.6 billion. Because they once kept seven precepts, they receive superior results. They are supported by the wind wheel. These great sun-traversing gods, together with the two great gods Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Vaiśravaṇa, travel through the four continents, play in the sky, enjoy the pleasures of the five desires, and delight themselves as they wish.

As the sun-traversing gods circle Mount Sumeru, the mountain casts a shadow in whichever direction they pass, and humans call this night. The wind wheel supports the northern stars so that they revolve without sinking. Seeing that the morning star does not set, outsiders suppose that it sustains all the world’s lands, unaware that this is accomplished by the wind’s force.

Keeping only the precept against killing brings birth in the abodes of the Four Heavenly Kings. Keeping both the precepts against killing and stealing brings birth among the Thirty-Three. Adding abstention from sexual misconduct brings birth in the Yāma Heaven. Adding abstention from the four verbal transgressions brings birth in Tuṣita. Adding worldly discipline and faith in the seven precepts taught by the Buddha brings birth in the Enjoyment of Transformations and Mastery over Others’ Transformations heavens. As the discipline kept becomes more excellent, celestial body, merit, and lifespan also become more excellent. When discipline is kept through the mind, a person whose intention is more excellent gains still more excellent merit.

Among the Thirty-Three, the first is called the Heaven of the Hall of Good Dharma. Its ruler formerly kept the seven precepts firmly and without defect and gave to the noble persons of the four fruits, the sick, parents, and those in the attainment of cessation. The ruler cultivated kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity and saved people from fear by preserving their lives; thus the ruler was born in the Hall of Good Dharma and became Śakradeva. His clan is Kauśika, his name is Capable Lord of the Gods, and he has ninety-nine nayutas of celestial women as attendants without jealousy in his mind. The Hall of Good Dharma is five hundred yojanas wide.

The third is called the Pure Heaven. The king of the Yāma Heaven is named Musulouda and is five yojanas tall; even a hundred thousand Śakras combined cannot equal him.

The fourth is Tuṣita, meaning Palace of the Discerning Mind. Its king is named Santuṣita.

The fifth is Nirmāṇarati, meaning Self-Mastery and also called Delight without Arrogance.

The sixth is Paranirmitavaśavartin, meaning Mastery over Others’ Transformations. Stages in the form and formless realms are not copied here. This concludes the small medicinal herb.

Middle-Grass Stages: Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas

The middle medicinal herb is the two vehicles. These stages are judged according to fruits attained through cultivation.

Earlier masters said that the Satyasiddhiśāstra anticipated the Great Vehicle and explained the bodhisattva’s meaning. This is not correct. Its author says that he is explaining the real meaning within the Tripiṭaka. That real meaning is emptiness. How could human masters misrepresent the author of the treatise? The emptiness gate of the Satyasiddhiśāstra explains stages of suppression and severance among twenty-seven worthy and noble persons. The existence gate of Abhidharma explains such stages among seven worthy and seven noble persons. Their details are in the two treatises.

The middle-grass stages in the existence gate are now listed briefly: first the seven worthy stages, then the seven noble stages.

The Seven Worthy Stages

The seven worthy stages are: first, the five calming contemplations; second, the separate applications of mindfulness; third, the comprehensive application of mindfulness; fourth, warmth; fifth, summit; sixth, receptivity; and seventh, the foremost worldly dharma. All are called worthy because “worthy” means neighboring the noble. They can suppress the delusions of views through resembling understanding and, on the basis of that resemblance, produce the real; hence they are said to neighbor noble stages.

Heavenly demons and outsiders revolve through the currents of craving and views without recognizing the four truths. Persons in these seven stages clearly recognize them. The meaning of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is that in the past the Buddha and these beings did not see the four real truths. Those who see them recognize both the four truths associated with craving and those associated with views and clearly understand both. Understanding the four truths makes what is seen genuine and without distortion; this is the mark of a worthy person.

First, the initial worthy stage is learning the five calming contemplations. When contemplation is accomplished, the five obstructions to the path are broken; this is the first worthy stage. Why? Beings fixed in a deviant group do not recognize the Three Treasures or four truths and are attached to birth and death. A person may take refuge in the Three Treasures, understand the four real truths, and arouse the wish to leave birth and death and seek the bliss of nirvāṇa, yet the afflictions of the five obstructions still scatter and move, impeding contemplation of the truths. Once the five contemplations are accomplished, obstructions are broken and the path becomes clear; practice and understanding correspond, and so this is called the first worthy stage.

Second is the stage of separate applications of mindfulness. Once the five obstructions have been removed, contemplative wisdom should be able to contemplate the four truths; yet it takes the truth of suffering as its first gate and performs the four applications of mindfulness to break the four inversions. Those disposed toward liberation through wisdom cultivate only the intrinsic four applications and break the four inversions of attachment to intrinsic nature. Those disposed toward liberation in both respects cultivate the conjoined four applications and break inversions in both concrete matters and principle. Those disposed toward doubt-free liberation cultivate the three kinds—intrinsic, conjoined, and object-conditioned—and break every inversion concerning concrete matters, principle, and words. Skillfully employing four kinds of diligence within mindfulness, they cultivate four concentrations, produce five wholesome dharmas, break five evils, distinguish the functions of the path, and proceed securely. They can contemplate the four truths and thus accomplish the stage of separate applications of mindfulness.

Third is the comprehensive application of mindfulness. Separate mindfulness and wisdom have already broken the four inversions; now deep and subtle contemplative wisdom breaks them comprehensively. Object and contemplation may both be comprehensive; the object may be separate and contemplation comprehensive; or the object comprehensive and contemplation separate. Two, three, four, or all five aggregates may be contemplated comprehensively, and all such cases are called comprehensive contemplation. Here too skillful means can produce right efforts, bases of supernormal power, seven factors of awakening, and the eightfold path and quickly enter the following dharmas; hence this is the stage of comprehensive mindfulness.

Fourth is the stage of warmth. Through separate and comprehensive applications of mindfulness, one can produce a resembling understanding that contemplates the truths in sixteen aspects and gain an atmosphere of the Buddha-Dharma. This resembles smoke first rising when wood is drilled for fire or warmth emerging under the spring sun. Wisdom drills the contemplated object and produces resembling understanding; that understanding is compared to warmth. It also resembles flowers and grasses accumulating in spring and summer and naturally producing warmth. Wisdom of the four truths gathers wholesome dharmas; as these dharmas perfume and accumulate, wise understanding can arise. Hence it is called warmth. This is the first stage of inner ordinary beings, possessed by disciples of the Buddha but not by outsiders.

Fifth is the stage of summit. Resembling understanding further increases, and one obtains the four concentrations of the bases of supernormal power. Contemplation of the truths in sixteen aspects becomes still clearer. This stands above warmth like someone reaching a mountain summit and looking clearly in all four directions; hence it is called summit.

Sixth is the stage of receptivity. Resembling understanding likewise increases. The five wholesome dharmas advance and become faculties. One can accept and delight in the four truths; hence it is called receptivity. Lower and middle receptivity are both included here.

Seventh is the stage of the foremost worldly dharma. It is the single instant of higher receptivity, the most excellent wholesome root attained by an ordinary being; hence it is called the foremost worldly dharma. It was already explained briefly above in the subtlety of wisdom.

General List of the Seven Noble Stages

The seven noble stages are: first, practice in accordance with faith; second, practice in accordance with Dharma; third, faith-based understanding; fourth, attainment through seeing; fifth, bodily witness; sixth, an arhat of timely liberation; and seventh, an arhat of untimely liberation. All are called noble because noble means right. When true illumination through receptivity to suffering arises, ordinary nature is abandoned and noble nature entered. True wisdom sees principle; hence these are noble persons.

First, practice in accordance with faith names a dull-facultied person entering the path of seeing. Such a person does not rely on personal wisdom but depends on another to produce understanding. Although faith was already present on the path of preparation, it was not yet grounded in the real and so was not called practice. Practice means forward advance. From the attainment of true illumination through receptivity to suffering, fifteen instants advance toward seeing the real; hence the name practice in accordance with faith.

Second, practice in accordance with Dharma names a sharp-facultied person entering the path. Such persons use their own wisdom to see principle and sever bonds. On the path of preparation, they can personally use contemplation to contemplate the four real truths, but because the real has not yet arisen this is not called practice. From the foremost worldly dharma they produce true illumination through receptivity to suffering and advance through fifteen instants toward seeing the real; hence the name practice in accordance with Dharma.

Faith-Based Understanding and the First Three Fruits

Third, faith-based understanding is the new name for a person who practiced in accordance with faith upon entering the path of cultivation. The dull-facultied rely on faith and progress to produce true understanding; hence they are called persons of faith-based understanding. They realize three fruits—the first three.

When realizing the first fruit, wisdom concerning subsequent aspects of the path becomes conjoined in the sixteenth thought-moment, and stream-entry is realized immediately. “Stream-enterer” is translated as one who cultivates the uncontaminated. The Satyasiddhiśāstra still assigns this person to the path of seeing, while the Abhidharma masters say that realization of the fruit is already entry into the path of cultivation; the latter better explains cultivation of the uncontaminated. What the path of seeing severs is briefly called exhaustion of the three fetters and broadly called exhaustion of the eighty-eight proclivities. Seven births remain, but never an eighth; the rest follows by analogy.

Realization of the second fruit has two parts: approach and fruit. After the mind of the first fruit, the approach further cultivates contemplation of the truths in sixteen aspects, with the seven practices of awakening present, and in this very life uses uncontaminated wisdom to sever afflictions. One grade of the uninterrupted path severs one grade of desire-realm affliction, and severing up through the fifth grade all belongs to the approach. It is also called the advancing stream-enterer, and the “family-to-family” stage is discussed here. When all six grades have been severed and liberation from the sixth grade in the desire realm is realized, this is the once-returner fruit. The Indic term means “thin,” because desire-realm afflictions have become thin.

Realization of non-return also has approach and fruit. Severing the seventh through eighth grades of desire-realm affliction is called the approach to non-return and also the advancing once-returner; the “one-seed” stage is discussed here. The ninth uninterrupted path severs desire-realm afflictions, and realization of the ninth liberation is the non-returner fruit. Its Indic meaning is “not returning,” because one is not reborn in the desire realm.

More fully, stream-enterers are of three kinds: a stream-enterer in practice, which is the approach to the first fruit; one abiding in the fruit, which is the stream-enterer proper; and an advancing stream-enterer, also called family-to-family, which is the approach to once-return. Once-returners have only two kinds: abiding in the fruit and advancing. The latter is also called one-seed and is the approach to non-return. Non-returners likewise have two kinds: abiding in the fruit and advancing. Advancing non-returners sever the five higher fetters—the attachments of the form and formless realms—and are included among candidates for arhatship. Arhats have only one kind: abiding in the fruit.

Next come those who transcend fruits. A person who, as an ordinary being, had already severed six through eight grades in the desire realm later enters the path of seeing and produces true illumination through receptivity to suffering. During the first fifteen thoughts this person is a candidate for once-return, and on the sixteenth realizes the once-returner fruit. A person who, while still ordinary, had severed all nine grades in both the desire and form realms and continued through the sphere of nothing whatsoever is called one practicing toward non-return during the fifteen thoughts of entering seeing of the truths and realizes the non-returner fruit on the sixteenth. Such a person is called one who transcends, directly realizing the latter two fruits.

Although persons of faith-based understanding have movable faculties, they differ internally as those liable to fall back, those who guard, those who reflect, those who abide, and those who advance. Non-returners are further divided into five, seven, and eight kinds of transition. The five are intermediate transition, transition upon birth, transition with practice, transition without practice, and upward-flow transition. Seven are obtained by dividing intermediate transition into three. Eight take the preceding five and add transition in the present life, transition into the formless, and indeterminate transition; the rest follows by analogy.

Attainment through Seeing and Bodily Witness

Fourth, attainment through seeing is the new name for a person who practiced in accordance with Dharma upon entering the path of cultivation. This sharp-facultied person sees Dharma and attains principle by personal wisdom; hence the name. On the path of reflection such a person realizes the three fruits in sequence or transcends directly to the latter two, as distinguished under faith-based understanding. The only difference is that sharp faculties require neither hearing the teaching nor numerous supporting conditions but can personally see Dharma and attain principle. Attainment through seeing belongs only to immovable faculties. If the non-returner fruit is realized, there are likewise five, seven, and eight kinds of transition.

Fifth, the stage of bodily witness is attained when persons of faith-based understanding or attainment through seeing enter the path of reflection. With uncontaminated wisdom they sever the lower and higher fetters and produce the four dhyānas and four formless attainments. Using the conjoined applications of mindfulness, they cultivate the eight liberations, eight superior bases, and ten universal bases and enter the nine sequential concentrations. Concrete and intrinsic obstructions in the three emptinesses have already been exhausted; they then sever the concrete obstruction in the peak of existence, cease all minds and mental factors that take principle as object, and enter the attainment of cessation. Because they attain this concentration, they are called non-returners who are bodily witnesses.

Why are they called bodily witnesses? When they enter cessation, quiescence resembling nirvāṇa is placed within the body and all labors of the three realms cease. The body personally witnesses the cessation of perception and feeling; hence the name bodily witness.

If bodily witness is explained from the first fruit, this person first used equivalent worldly wisdom while still ordinary to sever bonds and attain the four dhyānas and four formless attainments, and later attained seeing of the truths. In the sixteenth thought the non-returner fruit is realized; conjoined mindfulness is then cultivated, followed in the desire realm by the liberations, superior bases, and universal bases, until the nine sequential concentrations are entered and bodily witness attained.

Such non-returners are of two kinds: those abiding in the fruit, who are simply non-returners, and those who carry the fruit while practicing toward the next, who are advancing non-returners and are included among candidates for arhatship. The meaning attributed to the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom is that there are eleven kinds of non-returner, five being non-returners proper and six included among arhat-candidates. Bodily witnesses are advancing and thus included among arhat-candidates. The five and seven kinds of transition include upward flow; the eight kinds include only present-life and formless transition. Abhidharma distinguishes 12,960 kinds of non-returner; the rest follows by analogy.

Two Kinds of Arhat

Sixth, an arhat of timely liberation is a dull-facultied person arising from practice in accordance with faith. Such a person must await the right time and the completion of supporting conditions before liberation is attained; hence the name timely liberation. “Arhat” is not translated into Chinese, but the name contains three meanings: slayer of thieves, not born again, and worthy of offerings. This is the stage beyond training.

There are five kinds of timely-liberation arhat, all arising from practice in accordance with faith: those liable to fall back, those who reflect, those who guard, those who abide, and those who advance. They attain the knowledge of exhaustion and the equal view of one beyond training. By using the vajra samādhi, they exhaust the nine grades of delusion in the peak of existence. In the next instant, they realize liberation from the ninth grade there and accomplish the knowledge of exhaustion; in the following instant, they gain the equal view of one beyond training. Because they may sometimes fall back, they are not said to attain the knowledge of non-arising.

These five kinds of arhat all come from a faith disposition and have dull faculties. When cultivating the path on the causal level, they must rely on robes, food, bedding, place, a teacher, and the support of others for wholesome roots to increase; they cannot advance as desired at every time. Each of the five divides into two. Without the attainment of cessation, one has only liberation through wisdom; with it, liberation in both respects. Those without cessation cultivated primarily the intrinsic applications of mindfulness on the causal level. Those with cessation cultivated both intrinsic and conjoined applications. On realizing the fruit, the three knowledges and eight liberations are attained simultaneously; hence the name liberation in both respects.

Seventh, an arhat of untimely liberation is the sharp-facultied person arising from practice in accordance with Dharma, also called an arhat of the immovable dharma. On the causal level, such a person can advance wholesome activities as desired at every time without waiting for numerous requisites; hence untimely liberation. Afflictions do not move this person; hence immovable, meaning nonretrogressive. Three knowledges are accomplished: the knowledge of exhaustion, knowledge of non-arising, and equal view of one beyond training. Such an arhat can also use the intensified emptiness samādhi to strike away noble wholesome dharmas, abandoning one concentration by means of another; hence the statement that this person can strike.

Immovable arhats also divide into two: those without the attainment of cessation, called only liberated through wisdom, and those with it, liberated in both respects. If they hear the Buddha teach the Tripiṭaka gate and cultivate object-conditioned mindfulness, they produce the four unobstructed eloquences and are called doubt-free liberated ones. These are pāramitā śrāvakas who can ultimately possess every quality of an arhat. They are called śramaṇa; here śramaṇa means the fruit of a śramaṇa.

Pratyekabuddhas

Second are the pratyekabuddha stages, translated as awakening through conditions. Such persons have deep merit from past lives and fierce, sharp faculties and can take contemplation of the truth of arising as their first gate. The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom calls them solitary awakened ones and those awakened through conditions. Those born in an age without a buddha who awaken naturally are solitary awakened ones. Those born in a buddha’s age who hear the twelve links, receive the teaching, and realize the path are awakened through conditions.

Solitary awakened ones born in an age without a buddha divide into lesser and greater. A lesser pratyekabuddha was formerly a trainee and is now born after the Buddha’s passing. Seven lives have been completed, no eighth life is taken, and the path is naturally attained. This person is not called a buddha or an arhat but a lesser pratyekabuddha. In power of the path, such a one does not equal great arhats such as Śāriputra.

A greater pratyekabuddha cultivates a body of merit for two hundred kalpas and obtains a portion of the thirty-two marks—perhaps thirty-one, thirty, twenty-nine, or as few as one. Merit increases and wisdom is sharp; comprehensive and separate marks can both be known and entered. Such a one has long cultivated concentration and constantly delights in solitude, hence the name greater pratyekabuddha. Lesser and greater ones awakened through conditions should be distinguished in the same way.

Pratyekabuddhas have sharp faculties, so multiple fruits need not be established. They can sever the primary afflictions and further erode residual habits, like strong-bodied persons who go straight to their destination without stopping midway. Separate fruits are therefore not established. This concludes the middle-grass stages.

Superior-Grass Stages: Tripiṭaka Bodhisattvas

The superior-grass stage is that of Tripiṭaka bodhisattvas. From the first arousal of the aspiration for awakening, such bodhisattvas produce compassionate vows, contemplate the four truths, take the truth of the path as their first gate, and practice the six perfections.

The period from the earliest Śākyamuni Buddha through the Buddha Ratnaśikhin is called the first incalculable kalpa. During it, the bodhisattva constantly avoids a female body but does not yet know whether buddhahood will be attained. Compared with stages of the two vehicles, this corresponds to the five calming contemplations and separate and comprehensive applications of mindfulness, in which the six perfections are practiced with compassion.

The period from Ratnaśikhin Buddha through Dīpaṃkara Buddha is called the second incalculable kalpa. Although the bodhisattva now knows that buddhahood will be attained, this is not yet spoken aloud. Compared with the stages of the two vehicles, it corresponds to warmth, also the initial level of the ground of nature and compliant receptivity. Having faith in realized Dharma, the bodhisattva must know that buddhahood will be attained; but while practicing the six perfections through the understanding of warmth, the mind is not yet clear, and so this is not announced to others.

The period from Dīpaṃkara Buddha through Vipaśyin Buddha is called the third incalculable kalpa. The bodhisattva now knows clearly inwardly that buddhahood will be attained and personally declares it without fear. Compared with the stages, this corresponds to summit. Practice of the six perfections brings clear understanding of the four truths, like climbing a mountain summit and seeing clearly in every direction; therefore it can be announced to others.

After three incalculable kalpas, cultivating the actions that plant the thirty-two marks corresponds to lower receptivity among the stages of the two vehicles. With the wisdom of this receptivity the bodhisattva practices the six perfections and accomplishes a hundred merits; a hundred merits make the cause of one mark. These are planted at lower receptivity when a buddha appears in the human world.

When seated at the place of awakening, the bodhisattva occupies middle and higher receptivity. From one instant of higher receptivity the real is entered; thirty-four thought-moments sever the bonds and unsurpassed complete awakening is attained, and only then is this person called a buddha. Before that point, all belongs to the superior-grass stage of the Tripiṭaka bodhisattva.

Small-Tree Stages: The Ten Grounds Shared by the Three Vehicles

The small-tree stage is the Shared Teaching. Persons of all three vehicles use the path beyond speech to sever afflictions and enter the truth of the highest meaning. Their contemplative wisdom embodying dharmas does not differ; differences arise only from strength of wisdom and whether afflictive habits are exhausted.

The ten grounds shared by the three vehicles are explained first, followed by names that differ while meaning remains shared.

The Ten Grounds

First is the ground of dry wisdom. Beginners in all three vehicles share this name and cultivate the five calming contemplations and separate and comprehensive applications of mindfulness that embody dharmas. The concrete features of these three levels do not differ from the Tripiṭaka Teaching, but practitioners comprehend the aggregates, sense fields, and elements as illusory and conjured and comprehensively break the eight inversions belonging to views and craving; this is called mindfulness of the body. The same applies to feelings, mind, and dharmas. Abiding in this contemplation, they cultivate right efforts, bases of supernormal power, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path. Although they have not attained the resembling water of principle associated with warmth, their comprehensive wisdom is deep and sharp; hence the stage is called dry wisdom.

Second is the ground of nature. Having gone beyond dry wisdom and attained warmth, practitioners can advance through initial, middle, and final thoughts, enter summit, and continue through the foremost worldly dharma; all are included in the ground of nature. Here skillful means for non-arising and deft understanding and wisdom surpass the preceding stage, and one attains resembling uncontaminated water of nature; hence the name.

Third is the ground of eight persons. It consists of persons in the three vehicles who practice in accordance with faith or Dharma. They comprehend the falsity of views, produce the real, and sever delusion while dwelling in uninterrupted samādhi. The eight receptivities are complete, and only one portion of wisdom is lacking; hence the ground of eight persons.

Fourth is the ground of seeing. The three vehicles jointly see the principle of the non-arising four truths of the highest meaning and jointly sever all eighty-eight proclivities of views.

Fifth is the attenuated ground. Practitioners comprehend the falsity of craving as itself real, produce six grades of the uninterrupted path, sever six grades of desire-realm affliction, and realize the sixth liberation, thereby making desire-realm afflictions thin.

Sixth is the ground free from desire. Persons of the three vehicles comprehend the falsity of craving as itself real, exhaust the five lower fetters of the desire realm, and become free of desire-realm afflictions.

Seventh is the accomplished ground. Persons of the three vehicles comprehend craving in the form and formless realms as itself real, produce true uncontaminated wisdom, and exhaust the seventy-two grades of the five higher fetters. Concrete delusions of the three realms are severed completely; hence the name accomplished ground.

Eighth is the pratyekabuddha ground. The true uncontaminated wisdom produced by pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas has great meritorious power and can therefore erode residual habits.

Ninth is the bodhisattva ground. Bodhisattvas enter the conventional from emptiness and let the path and contemplation flow together, deeply contemplating the real and conventional truths. They further sever residual habits and ignorance concerning form and mind, attain the Dharma eye and wisdom of paths, sport in supernormal powers, purify buddha lands, fulfill sentient beings, learn the Buddha’s ten powers and four fearlessnesses, and almost exhaust residual habits. Up to this point is called the small-tree stage.

Tenth is the buddha ground. Great meritorious power supports wisdom; wisdom corresponding in one thought ultimately contemplates the real truth, and residual habits are likewise finally exhausted. This resembles a kalpa fire burning wood and leaving no charcoal or ash, or an elephant crossing a river and reaching the far bank and bottom. Although bodhisattvas and buddhas bear names different from those of the two vehicles, all four contemplate non-arising and embody dharmas, belong beyond training, attain nirvāṇa with and without remainder, jointly return to reduction of the body to ashes and extinction of wisdom, and realize the same fruit. The teaching is therefore called shared.

Separate Names of Receptivity for Bodhisattvas

Next, names differ while meaning remains shared. This has two routes. First, names of receptivity are separately established for bodhisattvas within the stages shared by the three vehicles, while their meaning remains shared. Second, Distinct-Teaching stage names are used, yet their differing names continue to express Shared-Teaching meaning. Shared meaning is as explained above.

The first route separately establishes three names for bodhisattvas: receptivity of suppression, compliant receptivity, and receptivity to non-arising.

On the dry-wisdom ground, all three vehicles suppress the delusions of views, but bodhisattvas separately receive the name receptivity of suppression. This is because bodhisattvas trust that causes and conditions are empty, subdue their minds within the non-arising four truths, and arouse the four universal vows. Although they know sentient beings are like empty space, they still resolve to liberate them all. To wish to liberate sentient beings is like wishing to liberate empty space. The meaning of the Diamond Prajñā Sūtra is that bodhisattvas should subdue their minds in this way: they bring immeasurable beings to cessation, yet in reality no sentient being attains cessation. The remaining three vows likewise subdue the mind. Bodhisattvas differ from the two vehicles in function while cultivating the calming contemplations and separate and comprehensive applications of mindfulness on the dry-wisdom ground; hence the separate name receptivity of suppression.

Next, persons of all three vehicles produce wholesome contaminated aggregates and resembling understanding, suppress the delusions of views, and accord with the highest meaning; bodhisattvas alone receive the name compliant receptivity. Bodhisattvas not only suppress bonds and accord with principle but also subdue their minds for all sentient beings, universally practice the six perfections, and bring merit and wisdom to completion in every affair. Just as Tripiṭaka bodhisattvas practice the six perfections for three incalculable kalpas within middle receptivity without sparing body or life, these bodhisattvas discipline their faculties through vows of emptiness and no-mark and fulfill the six perfections for sentient beings; hence compliant receptivity.

Next, persons of all three vehicles produce the real uncontaminated and call both wisdom and severance non-arising, but bodhisattvas alone receive the name receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas. Having seen the principle of the truths and severed bonds and proclivities, they do not produce a mind that appropriates realization. If such a mind arose, they would fall to the grounds of the two vehicles and could not enter the ninth bodhisattva ground.

All three vehicles attain supernormal powers, but the two vehicles cannot use them to fulfill sentient beings and purify buddha lands and therefore do not receive the name “sportive.” Bodhisattvas can do so and thus separately receive the name sportive supernormal powers. Although non-returners have severed the five lower fetters, they cannot relinquish deep concentration, be reborn in the desire realm, harmonize their light to benefit beings, and remain unstained while mingling with the dust. Bodhisattvas can do this and thus separately receive the name purity free from desire.

Although persons of the three vehicles all contemplate the real and conventional truths, their uses differ. The two vehicles contemplate both but consistently embody the conventional and enter emptiness, using the real to sever bonds until reaching the fruit beyond training. Bodhisattvas also contemplate both. From dry wisdom through the ground of seeing, they principally move from the conventional into emptiness, attain all-wisdom and the wisdom eye, and chiefly use the real. From the attenuated ground they learn sportive supernormal powers, chiefly cultivate movement from emptiness into the conventional, attain wisdom of paths and the Dharma eye, and chiefly use the conventional. From the pratyekabuddha ground they learn simultaneous illumination by both contemplations; entering the bodhisattva ground, they naturally flow into the ocean of omniscience. With an effortless mind they cultivate the knowledge of all modes and the buddha eye. On the buddha ground all becomes perfectly luminous: the knowledge of all modes and the buddha eye ultimately illuminate both truths together.

The treatise therefore cites the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom to this effect: what śrāvaka Dharma calls the dry-wisdom ground is the bodhisattva’s receptivity of suppression; what śrāvaka Dharma calls the ground of nature is the bodhisattva’s compliant receptivity; what śrāvaka Dharma calls the ground of eight persons is the bodhisattva’s path of receptivity to non-arising; what śrāvaka Dharma calls the ground of seeing is the fruit of the bodhisattva’s receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas; what śrāvakas call the attenuated ground is the bodhisattva’s sportive five supernormal powers; and what śrāvaka Dharma calls the ground free from desire is the bodhisattva’s purity free from desire.

The arhat ground in śrāvaka Dharma is the buddha ground. The Tripiṭaka buddha produces the real in thirty-four thought-moments and exhausts the bonds of the three realms, equal to an arhat; hence it is called the buddha ground. In bodhisattva Dharma it is still called receptivity to non-arising. Thus the meaning of the Large Prajñā is that an arhat’s wisdom and severance are the bodhisattva’s receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas. The pratyekabuddha ground is likewise so.

The ninth ground surpasses the pratyekabuddha and enters the bodhisattva stage. The bodhisattva stage includes the ninth and tenth grounds, so a bodhisattva on the tenth ground should be understood as resembling a buddha, although residual habits are not yet exhausted. Passing beyond the bodhisattva ground, one enters the buddha ground. Vows support the use of remaining habits to bring birth in Jambudvīpa and display the eight marks of attaining the path. The first five do not differ from those of the Tripiṭaka buddha. Sixth, beneath the tree of awakening, wisdom corresponding in one thought is attained, corresponds with the principle of the non-arising four truths, exhausts every afflictive habit, and fully possesses great compassion, the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, eighteen exclusive qualities, and all merit; this is called a buddha. Seventh, the Dharma wheel is turned: skillful wisdom opens the Tripiṭaka wheel of the arising-and-ceasing four truths, while real wisdom teaches the Great Vehicle wheel of the non-arising four truths to persons of the three vehicles in the Shared Teaching. Eighth, at the mark of entering nirvāṇa, the buddha enters nirvāṇa without remainder between the twin trees, like fuel exhausted and fire extinguished, leaving relics as a field of merit for all gods and humans. These are the stages separately named for bodhisattvas within the Shared Teaching’s common stages.

Borrowing Distinct-Teaching Stage Names

The second route borrows the names of the Distinct Teaching’s ten faiths, thirty minds, and ten grounds as comparative measures for the stages of Shared-Teaching bodhisattvas.

In Shared-Teaching meaning, the iron-wheel stage is the dry-wisdom ground and receptivity of suppression. The thirty minds correspond to the ground of nature and compliant receptivity. The grounds of eight persons and seeing correspond to the first ground of joy and attainment of receptivity to non-arising. Thus the meaning of the Large Prajñā is that the wisdom and severance of a stream-enterer are all the bodhisattva’s receptivity to non-arising.

The approach and fruit on the attenuated ground correspond respectively to the ground free from defilement and the luminous ground; thus the wisdom and severance of a once-returner are the bodhisattva’s receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas. The approach and fruit on the ground free from desire correspond respectively to the radiant ground and the ground difficult to conquer; thus the wisdom and severance of a non-returner are the bodhisattva’s receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas. The approach and fruit on the accomplished ground correspond respectively to the manifest ground and far-traveling ground; thus the wisdom and severance of an arhat are the bodhisattva’s receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas. The pratyekabuddha ground corresponds to the eighth, immovable ground, where residual habits are eroded; thus the wisdom and severance of the pratyekabuddha ground are the bodhisattva’s receptivity to the non-arising of dharmas. The bodhisattva ground corresponds to the ground of good wisdom, and the tenth ground should be understood as resembling the buddha ground. The buddha ground is as explained above.

The Shared-Teaching buddha and Tripiṭaka buddha are alike in some ways and different in others. Both dwell in the world for eighty years and enter the real before returning to reduction to ashes and extinction. The Tripiṭaka buddha suppresses delusion in the cause and severs it in the result; the Shared-Teaching buddha severs in both cause and result. The Tripiṭaka buddha enters contemplation three times daily to discern capacities, while the Shared-Teaching buddha sees the conventional as itself real and need not enter separately to discern them. This is determining stages by borrowed Distinct-Teaching names. Although names differ, meaning is the same, and these remain Shared-Teaching stages.

Five Questions and Answers

Question: In what scripture or treatise is the first through seventh grounds’ correlation with the fruits found?

Answer: Scriptures and treatises are not without correlations, but their heights differ, and human masters correlate them differently. Some correlate only the ground of seeing with the first ground, as done here. Some take three grounds from the beginning of the approach and combine them all with the first ground. The Humane Kings Sūtra combines four grounds with the first ground, making fixed judgment difficult. Yet the Shared Teaching’s ground of seeing is itself an uninterrupted path on which stream-entry is realized without leaving contemplation. How could the first ground sever the delusions of views, only for them still to be severed as late as the third or even fourth ground? If those later severances are distinct delusions not shared with the two vehicles, that meaning can stand. Some also say that severance of bonds on the sixth ground equals an arhat; others say the seventh. None can be held as determinate. Scriptural and treatise correlations of the first and last fruits are already unfixed, so the intervening stages may be understood according to meaning. The present account merely infers according to meaning and must not be held as the sole determinate allocation.

Question: What stages are meant when someone says that contemplation of permanence begins on the seventh or eighth ground and breaks fundamental ignorance?

Answer: This is neither purely Shared nor purely Distinct. The Shared Teaching does not teach contemplation of permanence from beginning to end, so how could it break fundamental ignorance midway? The Distinct Teaching knows permanence from the first aspiration, and the first ground can already break fundamental ignorance, so why would the breaking begin only on the eighth? This is the meaning of the Distinct connecting with the Shared: Distinct-Teaching meaning enters the Shared Teaching.

Question: The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom discusses the first flame in three places. In the Distinct and Perfect Teachings, production of the real is taken as the first flame. Why does the Shared Teaching take dry wisdom as the first flame?

Answer: The Distinct and Perfect Teachings each address one pure capacity and therefore take production of the real as the first flame. The Shared Teaching addresses many capacities, including Distinct- and Perfect-Teaching capacities entering the Shared Teaching, and therefore inclusively takes dry wisdom as the first flame. For the dull-facultied, the grounds of eight persons and seeing are the first flame. The sharp-facultied can sever bonds on the dry-wisdom ground, and so dry wisdom is their first flame.

Question: Since persons of sharp faculties can sever early, should they lack ten grounds?

Answer: The ten grounds are fully present. Because their faculties are sharp, they are simply not constrained to stop at each one.

Question: Do the Distinct and Perfect Teachings have no sharp-facultied persons?

Answer: Although they too have sharp and dull faculties, their capacities are pure, and so only one account is given. They should be understood in this way.

Great-Tree Stages: The Distinct Teaching

The great-tree stage is the Distinct-Teaching stage and has three parts: first, presenting differences among scriptures and treatises; second, explaining stages in general; and third, separately explaining the seven stages.

In the Distinct Teaching, name, meaning, principle, delusion, wisdom, and severance are all distinct. Stages are discussed here in terms of conditioned provisional names, buddha dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, the principle of the tathāgata-garbha, permanent nirvāṇa, and the immeasurable four truths.

Four Kinds of Immeasurable Four Truths

There are four kinds of immeasurable four truths. The first neither suppresses nor breaks delusions like dust and sand and neither suppresses nor breaks fundamental ignorance. The second incidentally suppresses and breaks delusions like dust and sand but does not suppress or break fundamental ignorance. The third directly suppresses and breaks delusions like dust and sand and also suppresses fundamental ignorance. The fourth directly suppresses and breaks delusions like dust and sand and also suppresses and breaks fundamental ignorance.

What is the immeasurable that neither suppresses nor breaks delusions like dust and sand and neither suppresses nor breaks fundamental ignorance? The Tripiṭaka path of suppression has contemplation of the truths in sixteen aspects and recognizes immeasurable kinds of delusion obstructing the real, but it suppresses the delusions of views and thought and has nothing to do with delusions like dust and sand. By analogy, outsiders distinguish many things with worldly wisdom, but this does not mean that they suppress views and thought.

What incidentally suppresses and breaks delusions like dust and sand? On the Shared Teaching’s seventh ground, emerging from emptiness into the conventional distinguishes medicines and illnesses, but this only assists in extinguishing afflictions within the realms and does not directly suppress or break delusions like dust and sand.

What is the immeasurable that directly suppresses and breaks delusions like dust and sand? The Distinct Teaching distinguishes the four truths within and beyond the realms in immeasurable varieties. This directly suppresses and breaks delusions like dust and sand, also suppresses fundamental ignorance, and even includes the meaning of breaking it. The present name is taken from the concrete practice, and “suppressing ignorance” is used provisionally.

What is the immeasurable that suppresses and breaks fundamental ignorance? The Perfect Teaching illuminates the three truths and simultaneously illuminates every concrete matter and principle in the Dharma realm, with nothing left unclear. It therefore breaks the fundamental ignorance of its own ground and suppresses that of higher grounds.

The Distinct Teaching’s immeasurable four truths are neither of the first two kinds nor the last but receive their proper name from buddha dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. In actual practice they nevertheless range across the various four truths, proceeding sequentially with both incidental and direct cultivation. At the initial aspiration, practitioners take immeasurable dharmas as objects and arouse vows. First they directly use the arising-and-ceasing four truths to suppress the generally shared delusions of views and thought while incidentally cultivating the other three kinds. Next they directly use the non-arising truths to break generally shared views and thought while incidentally cultivating the remaining two. Then they directly use the immeasurable truths to break delusions like dust and sand within and beyond the realms. Next they directly use the non-constructed truths to suppress fundamental ignorance. Finally they directly use the non-constructed truths to break it.

Why Do Scriptures and Treatises Differ in Names and Counts?

Because there are such immeasurable gradations, the names and numbers given in scriptures and treatises, the heights at which suppression and severance occur, and the Dharma gates with which stages correspond often differ.

The Avataṃsaka Sūtra teaches forty-one grounds—the thirty minds, ten grounds, and buddha ground. The Bodhisattva’s Necklace of the Primary Practice teaches fifty-two stages; the Humane Kings Sūtra, fifty-one; the New Golden Light Sūtra, only the ten grounds and the buddha fruit; the Prajñā Sūtra of King Śrīdeva, fourteen receptivities; the Large Prajñā, only ten grounds; and the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, five practices and ten qualities. Correlated according to meaning, the latter appears to unfold the thirty minds, ten grounds, and buddha ground, but the scripture does not state those names.

The Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Mahāyānasaṃgraha, Bodhisattvabhūmi Treatise, Treatise on the Ten Abodes, and Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom likewise explain bodhisattva stages but differ in number and level of detail; the rest follows by analogy. Their levels of suppression and severance also differ, as do their correlations with Dharma gates, practices, and stages.

Why is this so? They explain bodhisattva practices and stages both within and beyond the realms and for bodhisattvas with birth bodies and Dharma bodies. Through skillful means, the Tathāgata uses the four siddhāntas to teach beings within the realms and benefit them according to capacity. How could there be only one fixed account? To dispute without broadly searching scriptures and treatises is like people without eyes arguing about the sun.

To understand the number of stages, one must now rely on the Bodhisattva’s Necklace of the Primary Practice and Humane Kings Sūtra. To understand levels of suppression and severance, one must rely on the Large Prajñā’s three contemplations. To correlate stages with Dharma gates, one must rely on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. Meanings from many scriptures are taken together to clarify the beginner’s gates of contemplation and teaching.

Higher stages of noble persons cannot be measured by ordinary beings. How could they be discussed recklessly? The general meaning is explained to break practitioners’ conceit, resolve scriptural passages, and guide beings to aspire toward higher stages. One must not cling partially and contend over right and wrong.

The names and numbers of stages are now judged according to the Bodhisattva’s Necklace of the Primary Practice and Humane Kings Sūtra. The sudden teaching of the Avataṃsaka chiefly explains forty-one grounds of perfect severance without giving names for the ten faiths. Many Great Vehicle scriptures chiefly explain Dharma gates rather than distinguish stages. The prajñā teachings of the first four periods chiefly explain bodhisattva contemplative practices and likewise do not focus on stages. The complete names and meanings of the fifty-two stages in the Bodhisattva’s Necklace of the Primary Practice may therefore summarize the Distinct- and Perfect-Teaching stages of the Great Vehicle vaipulya scriptures. The fifty-one stages of the Humane Kings Prajñā may summarize the Distinct- and Perfect-Teaching stages of the prajñā scriptures in the first four periods. The Lotus only opens the provisional to reveal the real and reveals one perfectly real stage. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra also explains both Distinct and Perfect stages in general without individually extracting every name; the rest follows by analogy.

Levels of suppression and severance rely on the Large Prajñā’s three contemplations because these conveniently clarify sequence. Gates of contemplative practice rely on the five practices of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra because these are precisely suited to practitioners in the latter age entering the path.

Distinct-Teaching contemplative practice is of two kinds. The first is not shared with the two vehicles, as in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Treatise on the Ten Grounds, the nine kinds each of discipline, concentration, and wisdom in the Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra, and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha. The second is taught in common with the two vehicles, as in vaipulya scriptures, the Large Prajñā, Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, and Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom. The five practices of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra proceed from ordinary beings to the ultimate and are therefore essential for practical use by practitioners in the latter age.

General Explanation of Bodhisattva Stages through Three Scriptures

Second, bodhisattva stages are explained in general through three scriptures.

First, the number of stages is explained according to the Bodhisattva’s Necklace of the Primary Practice. The scripture has seven: the ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, ten grounds, equal awakening, and the ground of wondrous awakening.

The initial ten faiths are external ordinary stages, the dry-wisdom ground of the Distinct Teaching, and the stage of receptivity of suppression. The ten abodes are the disposition acquired through cultivation. From the ten abodes through all thirty minds are stages of understanding and practice, inner ordinary stages of the Distinct Teaching, the ground of nature, and the stage of compliant receptivity. Inferred according to Distinct-Teaching meaning, the ten abodes correspond to warmth. The ten practices are the disposition by nature and correspond to summit. The ten dedications are the disposition of the path and correspond to receptivity and the foremost worldly dharma.

Someone asks: Since the Distinct Teaching is being explained, why use names of the four wholesome roots?

The answer is that since the ten Distinct-Teaching grounds are already correlated with the four fruits, what fault is there in provisionally comparing the preparatory stages with the four wholesome roots? Moreover, the Shared Teaching communicates with both Shared and Distinct Teachings and has both real and resembling understanding. Comparing and deciding in this way makes the meaning clear.

The ten grounds are the noble disposition and all enter the four noble fruits of the Distinct Teaching, severing fundamental ignorance together with Distinct-Teaching delusions of views and thought. Equal awakening is the disposition of equal awakening. In relation to bodhisattvas it is called a buddha of equal awakening; in relation to the buddha ground it is called a vajra-mind bodhisattva or bodhisattva of the stainless ground. The ground of wondrous awakening is the disposition of wondrous awakening, the ultimate fruit of a buddha’s awakening and the fruit of the fruit of great nirvāṇa.

Second, stages are combined according to the Large Prajñā and three contemplations to explain levels of suppression and severance. The meaning of the Large Prajñā is that a bodhisattva who wishes to possess path-wisdom should study prajñā. This is the ten faiths cultivating the contemplation from the conventional into emptiness, suppressing discursive craving and views, and preparing to enter the ten abodes. Attainment of the ten abodes severs views and thought within the realms.

A bodhisattva who wishes to use path-wisdom to perfect wisdom of paths should study prajñā. This is the ten practices cultivating contemplation from emptiness into the conventional. One who wishes to use wisdom of paths to perfect all-wisdom should study prajñā. This is the ten dedications cultivating right contemplation of the middle way. One who wishes to use all-wisdom to perfect the knowledge of all modes should study prajñā. This is realizing contemplation of the middle way and entering the ten grounds. One who wishes to use the knowledge of all modes to sever residual afflictive habits should study prajñā. This is the ground of equal awakening. When the habits of the affliction of fundamental ignorance are exhausted, one is called a buddha; this is the ground of wondrous awakening.

Third, the noble practices of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra are combined with the stages. The initial noble practices of discipline and concentration are the ten faiths. Noble practice in wisdom concerning the arising-and-ceasing and non-arising four real truths is the ten abodes. Wisdom concerning the immeasurable four noble truths is the ten practices. Cultivation of the one real truth and non-constructed four noble truths is the ten dedications.

If true wisdom subsequently arises, sees the one real truth, and realizes the non-constructed four noble truths, noble practice is complete. One abides on the ground of fearlessness, obtains the twenty-five samādhis, breaks the twenty-five modes of existence, and is called the ground of joy. The ten qualities explained after completion of the five practices may represent qualities of the ten grounds abiding in great nirvāṇa. Beyond this, the buddha eye sees clearly and distinctly; this is the ground of wondrous awakening.

Third, the seven stages should be explained separately, but their details are to be sought in other copies. This concludes the great-tree stage.

The fourth fascicle, second part, of the Fahua Xuanyi ends here.

Here the most real stages are explained—that is, the stages of the Perfect Teaching. The whole passage has ten topics: first, distinguishing names and meanings; second, explaining the number of stages; third, explaining the severing and subduing of delusions; fourth, explaining the meritorious power of one’s own practice and the function of benefiting others; fifth, explaining which stages are coarse and which wondrous; sixth, explaining why stages are established; seventh, explaining why stages are retired; eighth, opening and revealing that coarse stages are themselves wondrous stages; ninth, citing scriptures as proof; and tenth, explaining the beginning and end of wondrous stages.

1. Distinguishing Names and Meanings

The differences between the Perfect and Distinct Teachings could themselves be explained from ten perspectives, as will be done later in discerning the substance. Here only three cases—shared, distinct, and perfect—are used for analysis: first, the name is shared with another context but its meaning is perfect; second, the name is the same as in the Distinct Teaching but its meaning is perfect; third, both name and meaning are perfect.

In the first case, where a name is shared but its meaning is perfect, a later passage says, “Only today are we true arhats, universally worthy of receiving offerings among all sentient beings.” It also says, “Only today are we true śrāvakas, causing all to hear the sound of the Buddha-path.” Although the names arhat and śrāvaka are the same as in the Shared and Tripiṭaka Teachings, their meanings differ. Why? The arhats of the two vehicles have slain only the thieves of the delusions of the four abodes; ignorance remains. Their meaning of no further birth is partial rather than perfect. Thus the goddess says, “Because residual habits have not yet been exhausted, the blossoms adhere to your bodies.” Here, by contrast, both shared and distinct delusions are slain and the Tathāgata’s cessation is attained, so the meaning of slaying thieves is perfect.

Those of the two vehicles no longer undergo delimited birth-and-death, yet transformational birth-and-death beyond the three realms remains. The Ratnagotravibhāga says, “In the uncontaminated realm the two vehicles give rise to three kinds of mind-produced aggregates.” Here both delimited and transformational birth-and-death no longer arise, so the meaning of non-arising is perfect. Those of the two vehicles are worthy of offerings only within the three realms, not beyond them. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says, “Those who make offerings to you are not said to give in a field of merit.” Thus their worthiness of offerings is partial. Here one is universally worthy of receiving offerings among all sentient beings, so the meaning is perfect. Those of the two vehicles belong only to the Small Vehicle and hear the sound of the four truths from others; both the sound heard and the one who hears are limited. Here the entire Dharma realm is caused to hear the four truths of the one real and the sound of the Buddha-path, so the meaning of śrāvaka is perfect. One must therefore rely on meaning, not merely on words, and judge the stage from its perfect meaning.

In the second case, the names of the fifty-two stages are the same as those of the Distinct Teaching, but the beginning, middle, and final stages are perfectly integrated, wondrous, and real. They are spoken according to the speaker’s own intent and are not skillful means of the teaching-path. One must again rely on meaning rather than merely on words and judge them as perfect stages.

In the third case, both name and meaning are perfect. The scripture says, “Opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering are all the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing.” The Buddha knows this through the knowledge of all modes and sees it with the Buddha-eye, without any deficiency. Entering the Tathāgata’s room, sitting on the Tathāgata’s seat, and adorning oneself with the Tathāgata’s adornments likewise have names and meanings that are both perfect. They are therefore judged stages of the Perfect Teaching.

2. Explaining the Number of Stages

This topic has three parts: first, directly explaining the number; second, citing scriptures to establish the various enumerations; and third, analytical questions and answers.

If the Dharma Realm Is Equal, Why Can Stages Still Be Discussed?

There have been different understandings of the number of stages. Some say that sudden awakening is itself buddhahood and that no distinctions of stage remain, citing the Scripture of Questions Asked by Brahmā Viśeṣacintin: “One who studies in this way does not proceed from one ground to another.” Another master says that the first sudden awakening is already ultimate and perfectly complete; the forty-two stages are only skillful names of shallower and deeper established for those of dull faculties. He cites the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra: “The first ground is the second ground, the second the third; in quiescent suchness, what stages are there?” Another master says that the first sudden awakening through the ten abodes is already the ten grounds, and that the ten practices, ten dedications, and ten grounds merely state the same thing again.

From the present perspective, all these understandings take only one side. In the equal Dharma realm, even awakening and non-awakening cannot ultimately be distinguished—how much less shallow and deep? Yet if awakening and non-awakening can be discussed in relation to sentient beings, why can shallow and deep not be discussed in relation to the brightness of what they awaken to? The ultimate Great Vehicle is nowhere more complete than in the Avataṃsaka, Mahāsaṃnipāta, Large Prajñāpāramitā, Lotus, and Mahāparinirvāṇa scriptures. Although these texts teach the equality of the Dharma realm, beyond speech and demonstration, the stages of bodhisattva practice remain distinct.

Others categorically say that the equal Dharma realm has no stages. The response is: does ultimate truth contain distinctions, or not? Ultimate truth itself has none, yet those who see it may still be classified as seven worthy ones, seven noble ones, or twenty-seven worthy and noble persons. The true mark is equal and has no stages in itself, but what fault is there in distinguishing stages among those who see it? The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says, “It is like entering the ocean: some have just entered, some have reached the middle, and some have arrived at the farther shore.” Judging stages according to seeing truth is like the shallows and depths of rivers. Judging them according to the true mark is like different depths of entry into the same ocean. The Sūtra on the Practice of Contemplating Samantabhadra Bodhisattva says, “The cause of the Great Vehicle is the true mark of all dharmas.” Its fruit is likewise the true mark of all dharmas. Thus discussion of stages is not mere conjecture. Following the scriptures, stages may be explained through the four siddhāntas without contradiction. Seven classes are used: the ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, ten grounds, equal awakening, and wondrous awakening.

Before the ten faiths, the five grades must also be explained.

The Five Grades

If someone has planted deep roots of good in past lives, meets a good spiritual friend, or encounters a scripture and perfectly hears the wondrous principle—that one dharma is all dharmas, all dharmas are one dharma, and this is neither fixed as one nor fixed as all, but inconceivable as explained above—perfect faith and understanding arise. The person believes that one mind contains the ten Dharma realms, just as a tiny mote of dust contains scrolls filling a great trichiliocosm, and wishes to open this mind and cultivate perfect practice.

Perfect practice means that one practice contains all practices. Briefly, there are ten aspects. First, one recognizes that the present thought-moment is equally and inconceivably complete. Second, one grieves at one’s own torpor and extends kindness to all sentient beings. Third, one knows this mind to be constantly still and constantly illuminating. Fourth, one uses the still and illuminating mind to break through all dharmas, which are immediately empty, provisional, and middle. Fifth, one recognizes openness and obstruction in one’s own mind and all minds. Sixth, within this mind one fulfills the factors of the path and advances toward awakening. Seventh, one understands the primary and supporting practices needed by this mind. Eighth, one recognizes one’s own mind and the minds of ordinary and noble beings. Ninth, one settles this mind so that it does not move, fall, regress, or scatter. Tenth, though recognizing the immeasurable virtues of one mind, one does not become attached to them. When these ten minds are fulfilled and every thought accords with all the perfections, this is the initial grade of rejoicing in the Perfect Teaching.

The practitioner’s perfect faith has just arisen and must be carefully nurtured. Entering immediately into turbulent and complicated affairs may destroy the shoot of the path. Inwardly, the practitioner therefore cultivates contemplation of principle; outwardly, the practitioner upholds, reads, and recites Great Vehicle scriptures, for hearing has the power to assist contemplation. Inward and outward supports aid each other, perfect faith grows brighter, and the ten minds become firm. The Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says, “Giving bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges three times in one day does not equal the virtue of upholding a single sentence.” Contemplative wisdom in the first grade is like the eye, and reading and recitation in the second like sunlight. Because the sun has light, the eye sees different forms. A treatise says, “In relation to the real it is called a revealing cause; in relation to other good it is called a generating cause. Merit alone does not tend toward awakening; the two together tend toward awakening.” The immense benefit of hearing lies here. This is the second grade.

As inward contemplation grows stronger, outward support becomes more evident. Perfect understanding remains in the heart and vast vows perfume and impel it, so the practitioner adds teaching the Dharma, expounding and spreading it in accord with reality. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter says, “Answer only with the Great Vehicle Dharma; even when speaking through skillful means according to what is fitting, ultimately cause them to awaken to the Great.” The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says, “When teaching the Dharma is pure, wisdom is pure.” The Abhidharma says, “Teaching the Dharma brings liberation; hearing the Dharma brings liberation.” Teaching and guiding are a complete condition for another person to attain the path; the merit of transformation returns to oneself, and the ten minds grow three times brighter. This is the third grade.

Previously the practitioner concentrated on maturing contemplation of mind and had no leisure to engage in affairs. Now that right contemplation has become somewhat clear, one additionally benefits others. Even a small gift may be made equal in scope to empty space and the Dharma realm, causing all dharmas to tend toward giving and giving to become the Dharma realm. The Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says, “A bodhisattva who gives only a little surpasses śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas and should train in prajñā.” The other five perfections are the same. Although the external act is small, the mind that directs it is vast. Contemplation of principle remains primary and practice in affairs auxiliary; thus this is called additionally practicing giving. Merit in affairs supports contemplation of principle, and the ten minds grow still more abundant. This is the fourth grade.

As the practitioner’s perfect contemplation matures and principle and affairs approach integration, engaging in affairs does not obstruct principle and abiding in principle does not separate one from affairs. The practitioner therefore fully practices the six perfections. In giving, one does not grasp either extreme. Within the dependent recompense and proper recompense of the ten Dharma realms, to relinquish one is to relinquish all; wealth, body, life, and fearlessness are all given. In upholding discipline, grave offenses by nature and rules preventing reproach are not separated within perfect contemplation, while none of the grave or light rules in the five vinayas is violated. In practicing forbearance, sentient beings and dharmas are originally quiescent, yet burdens are borne and patiently endured. In practicing vigor, body and mind are pure, without interruption or regression. In practicing dhyāna, one ranges through the concentrations without conflict between stillness and activity. In cultivating wisdom, provisional and real wisdom are comprehensively understood; even worldly knowledge and livelihood do not contradict the true mark. The practitioner fully explains the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, and right contemplation grows like fire fed with fuel. This is the fifth grade.

No analogy from east, west, south, north, or the intermediate directions can match the virtue of perfect faith in these five grades. Though still the initial mind, it surpasses the virtues of śrāvaka adepts beyond training, as the scripture explains in full. If one insists on an approximate comparison for the sake of understanding, it resembles the separate and general stations of mindfulness in the Tripiṭaka tradition. By inferential meaning it also resembles the dry-wisdom ground of the Shared Teaching, the stage of the forbearance of subduing, or the ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching.

Zhang’an adds this private comment: the five grades are skillful means of the perfect tradition. To make the initial stages easy to understand, the lesser may be used as a standard from which to look toward the great, as with the five meditations for settling the mind in the Tripiṭaka Teaching. In the first grade, perfect faith in the Dharma realm trusts the buddhas above and sentient beings below and rejoices in all. This is the perfect tradition’s meditation on kindness, treating jealousy throughout the Dharma realm. In the second grade one reads and recites Great Vehicle writing. Writing is the vital breath of the Dharma body; lucid and fluent reading and recitation are the perfect tradition’s breath-counting meditation, treating scattered conceptual activity throughout the Dharma realm. The grade of teaching the Dharma purifies one’s own mind and others’ minds. It is the perfect tradition’s contemplation of dependent arising, treating one’s own and others’ delusion throughout the Dharma realm. When delusion is removed, formations through aging-and-death are likewise removed.

The grade of additionally practicing the six perfections is the perfect tradition’s meditation on impurity. The six coverings begin with desire. If desire is relinquished, both its cause and its recompense are relinquished. Once relinquished, no recompense body remains; it can be called neither pure nor impure. The grade of directly practicing the six perfections is the perfect tradition’s recollection of the Buddha. While directly practicing them, affairs themselves are principle. Principle does not obstruct the path; attachment to affairs does. When affairs themselves are seen as principle, there is no obstruction to discuss. This is the general meaning.

The Ten Faiths

Perfect hearing initially gives rise to perfect faith and perfect practice. Through skillful increase, the practitioner makes this perfect practice fivefold deeper and brighter than at the five grades, and through it enters the perfect stages. Cultivating the equal Dharma realm enters the mind of faith; cultivating kindness enters the mind of mindfulness; cultivating stillness and illumination enters the mind of vigor; cultivating the breaking of dharmas enters the mind of wisdom; cultivating openness and obstruction enters the mind of concentration; cultivating the factors of the path enters the mind of nonretrogression; cultivating primary and supporting practices enters the mind of dedication; cultivating the stages of ordinary and noble beings enters the mind that protects the Dharma; cultivating stable nonmovement enters the mind of discipline; and cultivating nonattachment enters the mind of vows. These are the ten faiths.

The Sūtra of the Garland of the Bodhisattva’s Primary Activities says, “One mind of faith has ten; the ten faiths have a hundred; the hundred dharmas are the root of all dharmas.” This is called the iron-wheel stage of the ten faiths in the Perfect Teaching. It is purification of the six faculties and analogous understanding in the Perfect Teaching, corresponding to warmth, summit, forbearance, and the foremost-in-the-world dharma. The Sūtra on the Practice of Contemplating Samantabhadra Bodhisattva describes ten objects before the forbearance of non-arising; they are this stage.

Entering this mind of faith completely breaks views and thought within the three realms, breaks dust-and-sand ignorance beyond them, and subdues the delusion of the abode of ignorance. The Scripture on Benevolent Kings and Prajñāpāramitā says, “A bodhisattva who practices the ten good deeds arouses the great mind and leaves the ocean of the turning wheel of suffering in the three realms far behind.” This too is the present stage. Different scriptures describe it in different ways.

In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom answers the deity Right Mindfulness by saying that a bodhisattva contemplates the emptiness of the ten brahmā practices and studies the ten powers of wisdom before entering the first abode. The emptiness of the ten brahmā practices is the one real truth and also the truth of cessation that is non-constructed. Studying the ten powers is contemplating the truth of the path that is non-constructed; this is the stage of the ten faiths. The Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says, “It is like entering the ocean and first seeing a level expanse.” This also indicates that the vehicle leaves the three realms. The Scripture on Benevolent Kings and Prajñāpāramitā and the Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra have been cited above. Entering the Tathāgata’s room, sitting on the Tathāgata’s seat, and wearing the Tathāgata’s robe in a later passage are the practice range and sphere of association of the four Practices of Ease. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says, “There is another single practice, the Tathāgata’s practice, namely the Great Vehicle.” The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says, “From the initial arousal of the mind, a bodhisattva contemplates nirvāṇa and practices the path.” When contemplation of nirvāṇa and practice of the path give rise to analogous understanding, this is the one Tathāgata-practice.

The Ten Abodes

From the analogous ten faiths one enters the real wisdom of the middle at the ten abodes. When the first abode of arousing the mind arises, three minds arise together: first, the wholesome mind of the conditioning cause; second, the wisdom mind of the revealing cause; third, the principle mind of the direct cause. These are the simultaneous opening forth of the preceding subtleties of objects, wisdom, and practice.

“Abiding” means abiding in the nirvāṇa of the three virtues. The arising of the mind of the conditioning cause means abiding in inconceivable liberation and the Śūraṃgama Samādhi. The arising of the wisdom mind means abiding in mahāprajñā and ultimate emptiness. The arising of the principle mind means abiding in the Dharma body of the true mark and the ultimate meaning of the middle way. In brief, it is abiding in the three virtues and all buddha-dharmas.

One further abides in a pure and complete mind of awakening, objectless compassion, and non-constructed vows that cover the Dharma realm. One abides in accomplishing all myriad practices and perfections within a single thought. One abides in the knowledge of all modes and perfectly severs views, thought, and ignorance throughout the Dharma realm. One abides in the Buddha-eye and perfectly sees the dharmas of the three truths in the ten Dharma realms. One abides in perfectly entering all Dharma gates—the twenty-five samādhis—and invisibly benefits sentient beings. One accomplishes the bodhisattva’s perfect activity and reveals all supernormal powers, filling the Dharma realm with the inconceivable transformations of body, speech, and mind and visibly benefiting sentient beings. One accomplishes opening the provisional to reveal the real and enters the path of the One Vehicle. One purifies and adorns all buddha lands, makes offerings to all buddhas of the ten directions through the three kinds of action, gains perfect dhāraṇī, and upholds all buddha-dharmas as clouds hold rain. From one ground one fulfills the virtues of all grounds; every mind is quiescent and naturally flows into the ocean of the knowledge of all modes. These are the ten virtues of the first abode.

The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, “Even the buddhas of the three times cannot exhaust their praise of the virtues possessed by a bodhisattva at the first abode; if these virtues were explained in full, ordinary beings who heard them would become confused and mad.” Zhang’an adds a second private comment: these ten virtues accomplished at the first abode should be the ten dharmas within the ten faiths turning from the analogous into the real, with one abode containing all ten. Examined carefully, the two correspond. Since the hundred dharmas of the ten faiths are the root of all dharmas, they can certainly be explained in this way.

At the first abode the three contemplations are present, and with a mind free of deliberate effort one severs immeasurable grades of ignorance throughout the Dharma realm; their number cannot be calculated. As a broad division, they may be spoken of as ten grades of wisdom and severance, corresponding to the ten abodes. The Scripture on Benevolent Kings says, “Prajñā that enters principle is called abiding.” This means ten advances into the uncontaminated, all seeing the ultimate principle of middle-way buddha-nature. Abiding without attachment to dharmas, one moves from shallow to deep and abides in the Buddha’s three virtues and all buddha-dharmas; hence these are called the ten abodes.

Different scriptures describe this stage differently. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, “At the first arousal of the mind, one immediately accomplishes right awakening.” Such a bodhisattva comprehends the real nature of all dharmas, does not depend on another for awakening to what is heard, accomplishes the ten powers of wisdom, ultimately leaves falsity, and is unstained like empty space; the pure and wondrous Dharma body is quiescent yet responds to all. This should be understood as giving rise to the real uncontaminated and severing the first grade of ignorance. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says, “Knowing all dharmas in one thought is sitting at the place of the path, because all wisdom is accomplished.” This is also entering the Dharma gate of nonduality and gaining the forbearance of non-arising. The Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says that from the first arousal of the mind one sits at the place of the path, turns the Dharma wheel, and liberates sentient beings; such a bodhisattva is like a buddha. This is also the gate of the graph 阿 (a), meaning that all dharmas are unborn from the outset.

This is also the present scripture’s causing sentient beings to open the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing; the dragon girl’s arousing the mind of awakening and attaining complete right awakening in an instant; and the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra saying that the mind at first arousal and the ultimate mind are not different, though the first is harder. All these Great Vehicle scriptures speak of the first abode of arousing the mind in the Perfect Teaching. The same applies through the tenth abode.

The Ten Practices, Ten Dedications, Ten Grounds, Equal Awakening, and Wondrous Awakening

At the ten practices, after the ten abodes, the true illumination of the true mark is inconceivable. Ten further rounds of wisdom and severance break ten grades of ignorance. One practice contains all practices; every thought advances and flows into the ocean of the equal Dharma realm. The perfections grow spontaneously, and the virtues of one’s own practice and transformation of others equal empty space. These are called the ten practices.

At the ten dedications, after the ten practices, one has entered the path without deliberate effort. Inconceivable true illumination opens the entire Dharma realm thought by thought. Vows and practices, affairs and principle, naturally integrate and return into the ocean of the equal Dharma realm. Ten further rounds of wisdom and severance break ten grades of ignorance. These are called the ten dedications.

At the ten grounds, uncontaminated true illumination enters the path without deliberate effort. Like the great earth, it produces all buddha-dharmas, bears the sentient beings of the Dharma realm, and universally enters the buddha-grounds of the past, present, and future. Ten further rounds of wisdom and severance break ten grades of ignorance. These are called the ten grounds.

Equal awakening penetrates to the source-bottom of beginningless ignorance. Wisdom at the boundary is complete and ultimately pure. It severs the last, most subtle ignorance at the source and ascends the summit of the mountain of the middle way, parting from the parents of ignorance. Because something remains to be severed, this is called a person with someone above.

Seventh is wondrous awakening. It is ultimate liberation and unsurpassed Buddha-wisdom. Nothing remains to be severed, so it is called one with no one above. This is the three virtues, neither vertical nor horizontal, the great nirvāṇa of the ultimate final mind. Everything is great: principle, vows, adornment, wisdom and severance, universal knowledge, path, function, provisional and real, benefit, and nonabiding. The preceding ten contemplations accomplish the Buddha-Vehicle, which becomes perfectly ultimate only at buddhahood. Beyond the graph 茶 (cha), no graph can be spoken. Thus Vairocana Buddha is called Pure and Full: all is complete.

Citing the Scriptures on the Various Numbers of Stages

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says, “In the moon-love samādhi, from the first through the fifteenth day, form and light gradually increase; from the sixteenth through the thirtieth, form and light gradually decrease.” Increasing light represents fifteen virtues of wisdom, mahāprajñā. Decreasing light represents fifteen virtues of severance, liberation without bonds. The thirty minds are combined into three wisdoms and severances, the ten grounds are ten, and equal and wondrous awakening are one each, making fifteen. The moon’s body represents the Dharma body.

The Great Sūtra says that the moon’s nature is always full and in reality neither increases nor decreases; only because Mount Sumeru obscures it does it appear to wax and wane. It increases without increasing as the bright fortnight becomes progressively visible, and decreases without decreasing as the dark fortnight gradually disappears. The same applies to the Dharma body. In reality there is no wisdom to increase and no delusion to decrease. Because of ignorance, wisdom and severance are provisionally discussed; according to suchness there is no wisdom and no severance. Yet wisdom appears without anything acquired, and prajñā grows brighter; severance appears without anything severed, and liberation progressively draws free. The moon simile thus teaches the stages of wisdom and severance in the Perfect Teaching. The Great Sūtra also says, “First I establish my children in the secret treasury of the nirvāṇa of the three virtues; only then do I enter parinirvāṇa within this secret treasury.” This is the final wisdom and severance.

Someone asks: How do we know that the moon simile represents stages?

The answer is that the Scripture on Benevolent Kings teaches fourteen forbearances: the thirty minds are combined into three prajñās, the ten grounds are ten, and equal awakening is one. These fourteen prajñās are called forbearances while in a bodhisattva’s mind and wisdom when transferred to a buddha’s mind. This corresponds to the fifteenth day’s bright moon as a stage of wisdom. The Scripture on the Victorious Heavenly King’s Prajñāpāramitā teaches fourteen prajñā stages and directly uses the fourteen-day moon as a simile. Hence this explanation.

The Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra teaches forty-two letter gates and the equality of speech and graphs. Master Nanyue says, “These are the secret words of the buddhas; why must they not represent forty-two stages?” Some students cling to the Explanatory Treatise and say it has no such interpretation, so they doubt and reject it. Yet the original treatise had a thousand fascicles and Kumārajīva condensed it to one ninth. How can anyone conclude that the original certainly lacked this interpretation? The present explanation accords profoundly with the hidden meaning.

The scripture says that the graph 阿 (a) comes first and the graph 茶 (cha) last, with forty between them. The first letter gate contains the other forty-one, and so does the last. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that from the first ground one fulfills the virtues of all grounds; the meaning is the same. The scripture says, “If one hears the letter gate 阿, one understands every meaning, for all dharmas are unborn from the outset.” Is this not the Perfect Teaching’s first abode, where the forbearance of non-arising is first attained? Beyond 茶 no graph can be spoken: is this not unsurpassed wondrous awakening, beyond which no dharma remains? After the chapter on the Great Vehicle teaches that all dharmas are mahāyāna, it sets out the forty-two letter gates. This shows that a bodhisattva of the Perfect Teaching gains the true mark of all dharmas and contains all buddha-dharmas from the initial arousal of the mind, hence the graph 阿, and at wondrous awakening reaches the source-bottom of all dharmas, hence the graph 茶. Both meaning and number clearly accord with the perfect stages.

After the forty-two letters, the scripture next explains the ten bodhisattva grounds, revealing the skillful sequential stages of the Distinct Teaching. After those ten grounds, it sets out the ten grounds shared by the three vehicles, revealing the skillful stages of the Shared Teaching. The sequence of the text makes the three meanings evident. The forty-two letters are therefore taken here as proof of the perfect stages.

In the present scripture, the “Distinguishing Qualities” chapter clearly teaches the five grades of disciples at the initial mind; “The Qualities of the Dharma Teacher” chapter explains purification of the six faculties; and the “Skillful Means” chapter says that the buddhas appear in the world because of one great matter: to cause sentient beings to open the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing. Master Nanyue explains the four clauses as follows: opening the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing is the ten abodes; revealing the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing is the ten practices; awakening to the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing is the ten dedications; entering the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing is the ten grounds and equal awakening. Each says “Buddha’s knowing” because the knowledge of all modes is attained, and “Buddha’s seeing” because the Buddha-eye is attained.

The scripture further says that this is the one great matter of the buddhas, indicating shared entry into the One Vehicle and the true mark of all dharmas. It also says that only a buddha together with a buddha can exhaustively understand the true mark of all dharmas; this is wondrous awakening. In “The Parable” chapter, the children seek carts outside the gate and the elder gives each an equally great cart. They ride the jeweled vehicle through the four directions, playing joyfully, free and unhindered, until they reach the place of the path. The four directions represent the forty stages of opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering. Going straight to the place of the path is wondrous awakening, the exhaustive realization of the true mark. In the “Introduction,” the rain of four kinds of blossoms likewise represents these forty causal stages.

The scriptures cited above and the present scripture clearly establish the forty-two stages. These are stages within no fixed stages. Practitioners penetrate the true mark, increase the path, and diminish birth-and-death; stages are discussed only on that basis.

Analytical Questions and Answers on the Number of Stages

Someone asks: When ignorance covers buddha-nature and the middle way, is it divided into only forty-two grades to be severed?

The answer is that although ignorance has no real substance, it appears to exist without truly existing, and its gradations are not entirely absent. As one broad division, forty-two grades may be spoken of; in reality their number is immeasurable and boundless. The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says, “The types of ignorance are extremely numerous, so samādhis that break ignorance are taught repeatedly.” It also says, “Attachment to dharmas is difficult to exhaust, so prajñā is repeatedly taught.”

These perfect stages are inconceivable. If one rigidly matches each stage to one exclusive Dharma gate, those who investigate will lose the intent, generate many separated interpretations and attachments, and contradict the way of perfect integration. Such stages cannot be confined by ordinary affective views or fully expressed by an ordinary mind. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, “The grounds cannot be spoken; how much less shown to another!” Set aside the more profound stages. Even one who practices Great Vehicle repentance, arouses the initial perfect faith of rejoicing, and gains a single revolving dhāraṇī cannot fully explain it to others; however many distinctions are made, one without realization still cannot understand. How much less the later stages, whose names the two vehicles have not even heard? How could an ordinary being explain them? This statement has deep intent: the Great Master spoke of his own realization, and Zhang’an especially recorded it.

Set even this aside. A śrāvaka who practices the four stations of mindfulness and gains the stage of warmth cannot fully explain it to an outer ordinary being; however many explanations are offered, the latter still cannot know it. Set even this aside. When a meditator first gives rise to the five factors of dhyāna, these cannot be explained to one who has not realized them; even a skillful explanation will not be understood. Set even this aside. A wheelwright cannot completely transmit the skill in his hands even to his son. How much less can profound dharmas be exhaustively explained?

Students in the latter age often cling to provisional statements in scriptures and treatises about severing and subduing, and then contend with one another. Water is by nature cold, but how could one know this without drinking it oneself? These are all inconceivable words spoken by the buddhas in response to conditions; the numbers of stages differ as faculties require expansion or contraction. What purpose is served by empty contention when one has not realized them oneself? May all beings throughout the Dharma realm take refuge in the Saṅgha jewel, cease their disputes, and enter the ocean of great harmony.

The perfect stages may also be distinguished through four alternatives: expand the earlier portion and combine the later; combine the earlier portion and expand the later; expand both the earlier and later portions; or combine both.

The Great Sūtra says that the Heaven of the Thirty-three has deathless nectar, which ruler and ministers drink together. This is a simile for the stages: the earlier thirty minds are expanded, while the ten grounds are combined as one stage; equal awakening is then counted as another, making thirty-two ministerial stages that represent the causal stages. Wondrous awakening is the ruler and represents the fruit stage. Ruler and ministers drink the nectar together, showing that causal and fruit stages alike realize permanence and bliss. Unless this passage is explained by the perfect stages, it is difficult to integrate. This is the perfect-stage teaching that expands the earlier and combines the later.

The fourteen prajñās, by contrast, combine the thirty minds into three prajñās, expand the ten grounds into ten prajñās, and add equal awakening to make fourteen prajñās, all within the causal stages; passage into the knowledge of all modes is the fruit stage. This is the perfect-stage teaching that combines the earlier and expands the later. The forty-two letter gates expand both earlier and later. The rain of four kinds of blossoms represents opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering, while the jeweled cart’s journey through the four directions combines both earlier and later. The scriptures differ in how they expand and combine, but all such arrangements are siddhānta expedients; the perfect stages themselves remain clear.

III. Severance and Subdual in the Perfect Stages

At the stage of the five grades, one already understands perfectly the four truths of the one reality. Every thought accords with all pāramitās throughout the Dharma realm; as a whole, the mind is free of distortion, bias, and the various inversions. One can perfectly subdue peripheral delusions, adventitious delusions, and fundamental delusion, and so this is called the forbearance of subdual. Beginners in the other teachings have none of this tenor. The Great Sūtra says, “Although a student of the Great Vehicle has only fleshly eyes, they are nevertheless called buddha-eyes.” This resembles a fledgling still within the egg: before it has emerged, its cry already surpasses those of other birds. It is also like the subdual at the stage of warmth in the Lesser Vehicle, which exists in the Buddha-Dharma but not among non-Buddhists. This forbearance of subdual exists only in the Perfect Teaching, not in the other three teachings.

At the stage of the ten faiths, the path of subdual is stronger. One gives rise to similar understanding and removes views and thoughts within the three realms, together with dust-and-sand ignorance both within and beyond the three realms. Although the scripture says that one gains three dhāraṇīs, this is still called only the similar path, not the true path. The revolving dhāraṇī turns from the provisional into the real; the hundred-thousand-revolution dhāraṇī turns from the real into the conventional; skillful means of the sound of Dharma are precisely the path of subdual and have not yet entered the middle way. As the Scripture of the Jeweled Necklace explains, contemplation that enters emptiness from the provisional severs views and thoughts, yet this is liberation only in the sense of leaving the false; in actuality, one has not yet attained every liberation. Thus, even with the six faculties purified, one is still at the Perfect Teaching’s stages of warmth and summit among the four wholesome roots, the path of subdual called the forbearance of pliancy.

On entering the first abode, one gains the true dhāraṇī of the sound of Dharma and formally breaks ignorance; only this is called the path of severance. Seeing buddha-nature, permanent abiding, and the truth of the ultimate meaning is called the Perfect Teaching’s forbearance of non-arising. The ten practices, ten dedications, ten grounds, and equal awakening all break ignorance and therefore also belong to the stages of the forbearance of non-arising. At wondrous awakening, the path of severance is all-pervasive and its accomplishment final; this is called the forbearance of quiescent extinction.

When these are distinguished by their different stages, the forbearances of subdual and pliancy only subdue and do not sever, like the uninterrupted path; the forbearance of quiescent extinction at wondrous awakening only severs and need not subdue again, like the path of liberation; and the forbearance of non-arising both subdues and severs, being both the uninterrupted path and the path of liberation. In the shared sense, however, the forbearance of quiescent extinction at wondrous awakening may also be called the forbearance of non-arising. The Great Sūtra says, “Nir means non-arising; vāṇa means non-ceasing. Non-arising and non-ceasing are called great nirvāṇa.” It may also be called the forbearance of subdual in the shared sense. The Scripture on Benevolent Kings says, “From the initial arousal of the mind through the summit of adamantine wisdom, all are called the forbearance of subdual.” Subdual also carries the meaning of being worthy, and the bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Samantabhadra) dwells at the summit of all forbearance of subdual. Since the forbearance of subdual can extend upward, the forbearance of pliancy may be understood analogously. Since the forbearances of subdual and pliancy can extend upward, the forbearances of quiescent extinction and non-arising should also be able to extend downward. The Scripture of Questions Asked by Brahmā Viśeṣacintin says, “All sentient beings are precisely the samādhi of cessation.” The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says, “All sentient beings are suchness.” Suchness is precisely the forbearance of non-arising. Again, non-arising may be named in terms of phenomena and quiescent extinction in terms of principle; or partial realization may be called quiescent extinction, reserving the name “non-arising” for the ultimate fruit stage.

When discussed in terms of cause and fruit, there are also shared and distinct senses. In the shared sense, all sentient beings are precisely great nirvāṇa—speaking of the fruit on the basis of the cause—while buddha-nature is called a cause—speaking of the cause on the basis of the fruit. The Great Sūtra says, “What is fruit and not cause is called great nirvāṇa; what is cause and not fruit is called buddha-nature.” True and lucid seeing of buddha-nature occurs only at the buddha stage, so buddha-nature can also be called cause from the standpoint of the fruit stage. Equal awakening is cause in relation to wondrous awakening and fruit in relation to bodhisattvas below it. From there downward, every stage is both cause and cause of a cause, both fruit and fruit of a fruit.

In the strict sense of distinction, however, the forbearances of subdual and pliancy are not true causes, and the forbearance of non-arising is not yet the true fruit. Only the ten abodes and above are called true causes, and only wondrous awakening is called the true fruit. Why are the forbearances of subdual and pliancy not called true causes? In the Lesser Vehicle, for example, the expedient stages are not called the path of cultivation; only after seeing the truths is one called a cultivator of the path in the true sense. The principle here may be understood accordingly. The views and thoughts severed at the stage of the forbearance of pliancy resemble oil floating on water: they are false, floating delusions, easily blown away. Ignorance, however, is a delusion identical in substance with Dharma-nature, like milk mixed into water. Only the bodhisattva goose-kings who have ascended to the first abode or above can sip out the milk of ignorance and leave behind the pure water of Dharma-nature. From this point upward, the stages are therefore judged to be true causes.

Furthermore, the Distinct Teaching says that views are completely severed at the third or fourth ground and thoughts at the sixth or seventh ground. This should not be understood in the true sense. Why? Views and thoughts within ignorance are delusions identical in substance with it; how could they be completely severed at different times? This must be a statement in which the Distinct Teaching incidentally follows a Lesser Vehicle expedient. If views had already been completely severed, so that the real principle was no longer obstructed, why would the seeing of the ten grounds still not be ultimately clear? The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Grounds says, “The ninth is the pure-purifying dhyāna free from all views.” “Ninth” means the ground of equal awakening; only by entering the dhyāna free from views does one attain the fruit of great bodhi. If views were severed earlier, what views would equal awakening still have to leave?

If thoughts had already been completely severed, the later grounds should no longer have recompense or the various dhyānas. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra describes inconceivable clouds of incense and flowers in asaṃkhyeyas filling the Dharma realm. These are the five objects—forms, sounds, scents, flavors, and tangibles—produced through a bodhisattva’s supremely wondrous recompense, and they are here called thought-delusions of the desire realm. All bodhisattvas enter and leave immeasurable hundreds of thousands of samādhis and dhyānas; these mental-object dharmas are called thought-delusions of the form and formless realms. If thoughts were completely severed at the seventh ground, the higher grounds should be utterly free of the six objects. Why, then, is it said that the three worthy stages and ten noble stages dwell within recompense? Since they dwell within recompense, thoughts cannot already have been exhausted. The present teaching says that these views and thoughts extend through the higher grounds and are exhausted only at the buddha stage. Hence it says, “Only the Buddha dwells in the pure land; only the Buddha can exhaust their source.” Severance and subdual should therefore be distinguished as above.

Someone asks: Within the three realms, views are necessarily severed first, thoughts next, and ignorance last. Why does the sequence beyond the three realms differ?

The answer is that the suffering of the three evil destinies within the three realms is severe. Thus one first severs the views that lead to evil destinies, then thoughts, and finally addresses ignorance. Suffering beyond the three realms is lighter, so one first severs the peripheral and later the fundamental. Moreover, thoughts and ignorance do not obstruct partial reality; to see the real first, one therefore removes views first. Beyond the three realms, dust-and-sand is a delusion upon the substance; though comparatively remote, it obstructs the real principle. One therefore removes the remote obstruction before the near one.

Again, for a bodhisattva in the last body and for those of the two vehicles who leap through the sequence of fruits in the Tripiṭaka Teaching, views and thoughts may be severed simultaneously, and there is also an explanation in which thoughts are severed first. Only those who do not leap through the fruits sever them in sequence. The Shared Teaching likewise has both leaping and nonleaping meanings. The Distinct Teaching severs them sequentially, whereas the Perfect Teaching severs them simultaneously. The original question saw only a single route, and that is why it became a doubt.

IV. Virtues and Functions

When the two graphs are explained separately, “virtue” means advancing one’s own cultivation, while “function” means benefiting others. When explained together, the phrase primarily concerns transforming others.

Although true principle has not yet manifestly opened at the five grades, contemplative wisdom is already perfect and complete. Such a person still possesses the nature of the afflictions, yet knows the Tathāgata’s secret treasury and can serve as the world’s first reliance. To rely on this person is like relying on the Tathāgata. One should know that before long this person will reach the tree of the path and draw near to bodhi. The entire world should venerate this person, and all worthies and sages delight in seeing them.

At the similar understanding of the purification of the six faculties, perfect contemplation is clearer and one has long since bid farewell to the ocean of suffering. With one wondrous sound one can fill a trichiliocosm; wherever one’s mind intends it to reach, all devas and nāgas go there to hear the Dharma. Whatever Dharma one teaches can cause the assembly to rejoice. This still belongs to the first reliance.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra marks out four reliances, whose meaning applies to both the Perfect and Distinct Teachings. Most Dharma masters classify them according to the Distinct Teaching: everything before ascent to the grounds is generally called the first reliance; from ascent to the grounds through the third ground, where views are completely severed, one is called a stream-enterer, the second reliance; at the fifth ground, where thoughts are gradually encroached upon, one is called a once-returner and remains within the second reliance; at the seventh ground, where thoughts are exhausted, one is called a non-returner, the third reliance; and from the eighth through the tenth ground, when the three kinds of residual tendencies belonging to the desire, form, and formless realms are exhausted, one is called an arhat, the fourth reliance. If the perfect stages are aligned with the distinct stages, the last three reliances should be discussed within the ten abodes, which together with the pre-abode stages make four reliances. If they are classified directly across the perfect stages from beginning to end, the five grades and six faculties are the first reliance, the ten abodes the second, the ten practices and ten dedications the third, and the ten grounds and equal awakening the fourth.

From the first abode upward, virtue and function may be discussed together. If vertical virtue is not profound, horizontal function cannot be broad; when vertical virtue is profound, horizontal function is necessarily broad. This resembles a tree whose roots reach deep: its branches extend, and its blossoms and leaves are abundant. At the first abode, one vertically breaks one portion of ignorance, gains one portion of the twenty-five samādhis, and reveals one portion of true-self buddha-nature. Considered at the site of true realization, this is inconceivable. Explained through the teaching gates, however, one can horizontally divide one’s body and scatter one’s reflections throughout one hundred buddha-worlds, manifest forms of the ten Dharma realms, and benefit and protect sentient beings.

At each succeeding abode, vertical depth doubles and deepens: ignorance is progressively exhausted, samādhis increase level by level, true-self buddha-nature is disclosed portion by portion, and horizontal function gradually broadens. From a thousand buddha-worlds, to ten thousand buddha-worlds, to buddha-worlds numerous as the sands of the Ganges, up to ineffable-ineffable buddha-worlds, one pervades them all, manifests the eight marks of buddhahood, and transforms sentient beings—to say nothing of bodies in the other nine Dharma realms. The ten practices, ten dedications, and ten grounds proceed in the same way. As for complete fulfillment, only a buddha together with a buddha can exhaust the source of ignorance. Thus the scripture’s intent is that no ignorance remains in the Buddha’s mind; only the Buddha, king of the Dharma, ultimately abides in the kingly samādhi. Vairocana’s Dharma body horizontally pervades the Dharma realm and vertically exhausts bodhi: great virtue is fulfilled and supreme function complete.

V. Judging the Stages as Coarse or Wondrous

The small herbs escape only the four evil destinies; they can neither stir nor emerge. Although the medium herbs can stir and emerge, their wisdom still cannot exhaust the source and their beneficence cannot extend universally to sentient beings. Although the superior herbs can benefit others as well, they extinguish form to apprehend emptiness, so their method is clumsy. Although the small tree uses skillful means, its virtue reaches only within the three realms. All these stages are therefore coarse. What the great tree cultivates is a real matter: all its practices condition the middle way, all break ignorance, and all function beyond the three realms. Thus its stages are wondrous. Yet the Distinct Teaching enters through an expedient gate; its path twists and circles, its method is clumsy, and its stages remain coarse. The Perfect Teaching enters directly and is therefore wondrous.

Compared with the five grades of the Perfect Teaching, a Tripiṭaka bodhisattva who has not severed delusion at all is in one respect equal and in another inferior. Both have not severed delusion, so they are equal; but the five grades perfectly understand permanent abiding, whereas the Tripiṭaka bodhisattva has never heard of permanent abiding at all, and so is inferior. Compared with the stage of purification of the six faculties, the Tripiṭaka buddha stage, where views and thoughts are exhausted, is likewise equal in one respect and inferior in another. Both remove the delusions of the four abodes, so they are equal; but in subduing ignorance even the Tripiṭaka buddha remains inferior. If this is true even of the buddha, the two vehicles need not be discussed. The three herbs grow thickly but remain low; their generative function is shallow and brief, so all their stages are coarse.

The dry-wisdom and nature grounds of the Shared Teaching may be compared with the five grades in the same pattern of equality and inferiority. From the ground of the eight persons through the sixth ground, the Shared Teaching exhausts views and thoughts; at the seventh ground it cultivates expedients, and only at the buddha stage does it exhaust residual tendencies. Compared with the similar understanding of the Perfect Teaching, this too is equal in one respect and inferior in another, as the preceding meaning shows. The small tree still lacks a trunk towering into the clouds and branches and leaves swaying as they spread their broad cover, so all its stages are coarse.

The ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching and the five grades of the Perfect Teaching are equal in not yet severing delusion. Yet the ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching cultivate through sequential distinctions, while the five grades of the Perfect Teaching possess perfect understanding, and so the five grades are superior. The ten abodes of the Distinct Teaching sever the views and thoughts discussed in the Shared Teaching; its ten practices break dust-and-sand; and its ten dedications subdue ignorance. Taken together, these are equal only to the ten faiths of the Perfect lineage; relative superiority and inferiority can be distinguished according to the preceding meaning.

The first ground of the Distinct Teaching breaks ignorance and is equal only to the first abode of the Perfect lineage. If one says that the ten grounds of the Distinct Teaching sever ten grades of ignorance, the ten abodes of the Perfect lineage likewise sever ten grades. Even if the ten grounds of the Distinct Teaching are expanded into thirty grades, they are equal only to the thirty grades of the ten abodes of the Perfect lineage. If one assesses the Distinct Teaching generously, the Perfect lineage does not expand the ten abodes into thirty; instead, its thirty minds are aligned with the thirty grades of the ten grounds of the Distinct Teaching, so that the Distinct Teaching’s ten grounds equal the Perfect lineage’s ten dedications. If one strictly takes away the high position claimed for it, the Distinct Teaching’s buddha ground equals only the first practice of the Perfect lineage; if assessed generously, the Distinct Teaching’s buddha ground equals the first ground of the Perfect lineage.

Thus it is known that provisional discourse in the Distinct Teaching places the buddha stage high; compared with the real stages, however, its buddha stage remains low. It is like a frontier region not yet pacified, where temporary official appointments are high; once the situation is settled and offices are formally assigned according to rank and merit, their positions become low. The Distinct Teaching’s provisional discourse is high yet coarse, while the Perfect Teaching’s real discourse appears low yet is wondrous. The simile is easy to understand. When my causal stage is taken as your fruit stage, the distinct stages are coarse.

Although a great tree has an immense girth, it must grow from the earth and gradually mature. From this we know that the perfect stages from beginning to end are all real discourse, with real subdual and real severance, and all are called wondrous. The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says, “Suppose there is a tree called Good-Firm. It spends one hundred years below the earth; once it emerges, it immediately rises one hundred zhang and covers the crowns of every other tree.” This is a simile for the perfect stages.

VI. Why Stages Are Established

Someone asks: Since all provisional expedient stages are coarse, why did the Buddha teach them?

The answer is that sentient beings differ in what they delight in, in the conditions through which they can give rise to good, in the ways they recognize faults and reform evil, and in the routes by which they awaken and enter in dependence on the teachings. Thus the Tathāgata’s various teachings all bring benefit.

To accord with preferences within the three realms, he teaches the stages of the first two teachings; to accord with preferences beyond the three realms, he teaches the stages of the latter two. To produce phenomenal good within the three realms, he teaches the Tripiṭaka stages; to produce principial good within the three realms, the Shared stages; to produce phenomenal good beyond the three realms, the Distinct stages; and to produce principial good beyond the three realms, the Perfect stages. To break phenomenal evil within the three realms, he teaches the Tripiṭaka stages; to break principial evil within the three realms, the Shared stages; to break the phenomenal evil of dust-and-sand, the Distinct stages; and to break the principial evil of ignorance, the Perfect stages. To enter the real by conditioning phenomena, he teaches the Tripiṭaka stages; to enter the real by conditioning principle, the Shared stages; to enter the middle from phenomena, the Distinct stages; and to see the middle by conditioning principle, the Perfect stages. For these reasons the various stages are established, producing immeasurable distinctions of higher and lower ranks.

VII. Why Stages Are Retired

True principle originally has no stages. Stages are established only because of sentient beings’ conditions; as conditions arise in succession, stages also recede in succession. The retirement of stages did not begin for the first time with the Lotus Sūtra. One must understand the intent behind the various refutations and establishments and not refute or establish them recklessly.

The Tathāgata initially established the Tripiṭaka stages as an expedient to cause sentient beings to produce phenomenal good. Once phenomenal good has arisen and its salvific function is complete, they should be retired. The same applies to the stages of the Shared and Distinct Teachings. This is the Tathāgata’s intent in refuting and establishing.

When the Abhidharma and Mahāvibhāṣā discuss the bodhisattva, Nāgārjuna repeatedly refutes them, considering them to have lost the expedient intent of the Buddha’s teaching; thus they had to be refuted. At the same time, he elucidates the Buddha’s expedients, so they also had to be established. This is Nāgārjuna’s intent in refuting and establishing.

If ordinary Great Vehicle Dharma masters make no arrangement of the Tripiṭaka Teaching at all, they bury the Buddha’s expedients. If ordinary Lesser Vehicle Dharma masters extract meanings from Great Vehicle scriptures to explain the bodhisattva doctrine in the treatises they transmit, then although the Mahāvibhāṣā itself already teaches a bodhisattva doctrine, they leave it unused and instead draw on Great Vehicle scriptures to explain the Tripiṭaka Teaching’s gates of emptiness and existence. How could the two fit together? This has two faults: first, it buries the Buddha’s expedients; second, it makes the treatise master appear not to understand the bodhisattva doctrine. It must therefore be refuted.

Even when scriptures are cited to explain a Great Vehicle teaching, one must ask which kind of Great Vehicle is meant. If it is explained as the Great Vehicle of the Shared Teaching, the three vehicles enter the real truth together and remain alike even at the buddha stage. How, then, could the eighth ground contemplate the middle way and break ignorance? The meaning of the Shared Teaching cannot be established and must therefore be refuted. If it is explained as the Great Vehicle of the Distinct Teaching, beginners differ from the two vehicles from the outset. How, then, could the sixth ground be equal to an arhat? The meaning of the Distinct Teaching also cannot be established and must therefore be refuted. The Distinct Teaching is itself expedient; clinging to the provisional Dharma and slandering the real Dharma must also be refuted. People of the past have long departed, but their doctrinal explanations became fixed. Their faults are now visible and must therefore be refuted. Yet because the Buddha’s expedients must still be elucidated, they should also be established. This is the present master’s intent in refuting and establishing.

The Perfect Teaching was established by a single master. It surpasses the three provisional teachings and is immediately the one reality; its objects, wisdom, practices, and stages all differ from the preceding three. If the wording and meaning accord, we can proceed together along the level great road. If one loses the purport and departs from the true track, please follow a good guide. Having first explained the threefold refutation and establishment, we now formally explain the retirement of stages.

The Buddha establishes or retires teachings and stages for the faculties, as the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings says: “Immeasurable dharmas arise from one dharma—that is, the two paths, three dharmas, and four fruits.” The two paths are sudden and gradual; the three dharmas are the three vehicles; the four fruits are the four kinds of stages. These immeasurable dharmas arise from one dharma. The sudden path resembles the sun first shining on the high mountains; it is the great path and is provisionally set aside here. We begin with the Tripiṭaka Teaching, the first of the gradual path.

This teaching says that one who seeks buddhahood must cultivate the six perfections through three asaṃkhyeya kalpas and then cultivate the marks and excellences through one hundred kalpas before buddhahood can be attained. It is taught in this way to cause sentient beings to produce phenomenal good. Those who seek buddhahood thereby reform evil and follow good; once good is established, the work of this teaching is complete. It is then refuted: how could a bodhisattva who has not severed the afflictive bonds attain bodhi? A poisoned vessel cannot hold food. The teaching is therefore retired, as are the practices and stages it teaches. One originally cultivated the causes while looking up to the fruit of buddhahood; now that there is no corresponding fruit to seek, buddha-wisdom and the buddha stage are retired as well.

From the standpoint of the two vehicles, phenomenal practices originally disciplined their minds and they used the comparatively clumsy method of analytic emptiness to see the real. Once they have seen the real, the teaching’s intent is fulfilled, so the analytic teaching is retired. This is called retiring the Tripiṭaka and establishing the Shared. One who originally received the Shared Teaching directly and never studied the Tripiṭaka is not told that the Tripiṭaka is retired.

The Shared Teaching is established to cause sentient beings to produce principial good. By directly comprehending dharmas, they sever delusion and enter the real through a comparatively skillful method; once they have entered the real, the teaching’s intent is fulfilled. Having seen emptiness, a wise person should also see nonemptiness; how could one remain forever in emptiness? The Shared Teaching is therefore retired, as are the bodhisattva’s practice and wisdom; buddha-wisdom and the buddha stage are also retired. For the two vehicles, only the teaching is retired; the remaining cases are separately distinguished. The Shared Teaching can lead both to itself and to the Distinct Teaching. The meaning of shared prajñā is as explained above, while unshared prajñā has an aspect that is not retired. Thus the masters of the Satyasiddhi Treatise and Treatise on the Grounds see only the shared meaning of prajñā and not its unshared meaning, while masters of the Treatise on the Middle grasp the unshared meaning but lose the shared.

Because the Shared Teaching has these two meanings, retirement applies to its bodhisattvas and to śrāvakas still within expedient means. For śrāvakas already abiding in the fruit, it is not yet retired completely; for unshared bodhisattvas, there is a meaning of non-retirement.

The Distinct Teaching was established to produce phenomenal good beyond the three realms. Once dust-and-sand ignorance has been broken and phenomenal good accomplished, the teaching’s intent is fulfilled and it must still be refuted. Since this was taught according to others’ intentions, the Distinct Teaching itself is retired; all practices and stages before ascent to the grounds are retired, while the high names assigned to the stages from the grounds upward and to the buddha stage are also retired from the high and returned to the low. In this way, the Distinct is retired and the Perfect established.

The eightfold stages of the Perfect Teaching are all real stages and therefore need not be retired. The Great Sūtra says, “All rivers have bends; every grove necessarily has trees.” The other teachings accord with sentient beings’ affective views and therefore have bends. The three herbs and two trees are the Buddha’s expedients, not the real, so their stages should be retired. The great river with golden sand flows straight into the western sea; trees of gold and silver make an entirely jeweled grove, direct rather than bending, and therefore are not retired.

In the past, the gradual was opened from the sudden, but the gradual had not yet been integrated with the sudden. Now the gradual is led into the sudden, so it must be retired at every point. Once it has been integrated into the sudden, why would the sudden need to be retired? The scripture says that on first seeing the Buddha’s body, one enters the Tathāgata’s wisdom; therefore this one teaching is not retired. It also says that only the unsurpassed path is taught; this path is not retired. In the past, the three were taught distinctly within the One Buddha Vehicle; because the three vehicles had not yet been integrated, they had to be retired at every point so that the three could be united in the one. Now the three have been integrated and returned to the one, all share the One Vehicle, and therefore the one practice is not retired.

In the past, the four fruits were separate: the fruit of arhatship, the fruit of pratyekabuddhahood, the bodhisattva’s fruit of cultivation, and the expedient fruit of buddhahood; alternatively, four kinds of buddhas were taken as the four fruits. To integrate these fruits, they had to be retired at every point. Now the thatched hut has been dismantled and the conjured city erased; everyone arrives together at the jeweled place. Thus the one fruit is not retired. In this sense, three kinds must be retired and one kind need not be retired.

Yet each of the three teachings also has retirement and non-retirement. From the night the Buddha attained the path until the night he entered nirvāṇa, the four divisions of the Āgamas that he taught were compiled as the śrāvaka treasury. How could the initial teaching ever have disappeared completely? It accomplishes phenomenal good for earlier people and also suits the phenomenal good of later people, so it is both retired and not retired. The Shared Teaching similarly accomplishes earlier people and draws in later people; the Distinct Teaching does the same.

The Perfect Teaching is established and also not established. When the sun first shone on the high mountains, it was already established; for those who received only the Tripiṭaka Teaching, it had not yet been established. The scripture’s statement “When they first saw my body, they entered the Tathāgata’s wisdom” shows its earlier establishment; when students of the Lesser Vehicle now enter buddha-wisdom, it is established again later. Intermediate cases may be understood accordingly. The various practices and wisdoms are both retired and not retired, and the various fruit stages are likewise both retired and not retired.

When the five flavors are surveyed, the milk flavor has two teachings: the practices and stages of one teaching are both retired and not retired, while those of the other teaching are not retired. The curds flavor has one teaching, whose practices and stages are both retired and not retired. The raw-ghee flavor has four teachings: the practices and stages of three are both retired and not retired, while those of one are not retired. The refined-ghee flavor has three teachings: the practices and stages of two are both retired and not retired, while those of one are not retired. In the Lotus Sūtra, the practices and stages of three teachings are all retired, while those of one teaching are not. Because only the unsurpassed path is taught and all share the one jeweled vehicle, proceeding directly to the place of the path, the teaching, practice, and fruit are all not retired.

The two paths, three dharmas, and four fruits in the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings had not yet been integrated. In the Lotus Sūtra they are all integrated, so retirement is no longer discussed. For more than forty years after the Buddha attained the path, the real had not yet been revealed; only in the Lotus Sūtra was the real revealed. The tradition transmits that the Buddha taught the Lotus Sūtra at the age of seventy-two.

There are also four alternatives: the teaching is retired but practices and stages are not; practices and stages are retired but the teaching is not; both the teaching and practices and stages are retired; neither the teaching nor practices and stages are retired. What does it mean for the teaching to be retired while practices and stages are not? Śrāvakas abiding in the fruit remain in the thatched hut; their practices and stages are not retired, but their original teaching has been. What does it mean for practices and stages to be retired while the teaching is not? Those of sharp faculties receive hidden benefit: without waiting for the teaching to be retired, they have already ceased their original practices and stages. What does it mean for both to be retired? This is the case of Tripiṭaka bodhisattvas. What does it mean for neither to be retired? The original dispensation is retained to draw in those with later conditions. The Shared and Distinct Teachings may be understood analogously.

From the standpoint of setting up provisional teachings, the practices and stages of the three teachings are established while those of the one teaching are not separately established. From the standpoint of retiring the provisional, the practices and stages of the three are retired while those of the one are not. For those of sharp faculties, the one teaching is established and the three are not; for those of dull faculties, the three are established and the one is not separately established. In transforming the dull into the sharp, the one is established and the three are not. When sharp and dull faculties are considered together, there is both establishment and non-establishment, both retirement and non-retirement. From the standpoint of the equal Dharma realm, there is neither establishment nor non-establishment, neither retirement nor non-retirement.

There are another four alternatives: retire the original teaching and then hear a new teaching; retire the original teaching and hear no further teaching; do not retire the original teaching and then hear a new teaching; neither retire the original teaching nor hear any further teaching. Retiring the teaching and then hearing anew means retiring the phenomenal good of the six perfections and turning to hear the principial good in which the distinctions of the three vehicles have disappeared. Retiring the teaching and hearing no more means that after the teaching is retired, those of the two vehicles who abide in the fruit enter cessation. Not retiring the teaching and hearing anew means drawing in those who study sequentially, so that in the Vaipulya period they hear the names of the Great and Lesser Vehicles together. Neither retiring nor hearing anew means that before the original teaching has been publicly retired, practitioners have already awakened in secret.

There are another four alternatives: retire the original wisdom and cultivate a new wisdom; do not retire the original wisdom but cultivate further; retire the original wisdom and do not cultivate further; neither retire the original wisdom nor cultivate further. A Tripiṭaka bodhisattva retires their own wisdom and turns to cultivate the wisdom of non-arising: this is retirement followed by further cultivation. A śrāvaka abiding in the fruit does not retire their own wisdom but travels far to observe and learn the wisdom of non-arising. In actuality this person does not use skillful wisdom to sever the bonds; those who study sequentially also belong here. This is non-retirement followed by further cultivation.

A śrāvaka abiding in the fruit gives rise to the idea of extinction and refuses to cultivate the Great Vehicle: this is neither retirement nor cultivation. When the four great disciples declared their understanding, they said, “In the past, our bodies were weary and indolent, and we thought only of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; toward the bodhisattva-dharmas, we had no aspiration or delight at all.” Cases in which the original Dharma is retained to draw in those with later conditions also belong here. If a Tripiṭaka bodhisattva retires their original wisdom and then falls back into various evils, this is retirement without further cultivation. If one retires the original wisdom, secretly enters the sudden, and no longer cultivates expedient wisdom, that also belongs here.

There are another four alternatives: retire the original stage and then enter a new stage; retire the original stage and do not enter a new stage; neither retire the original stage nor enter again; do not retire the original stage but enter again. A Tripiṭaka bodhisattva retires the stage that does not sever delusion and enters a stage that does: this is retirement followed by entry. One who secretly and suddenly awakens after the original stage is retired and does not enter sequential stages is retirement without further entry. Those of the two vehicles who abide in the fruit neither retire their original stages nor enter again. Those who draw in beings with later conditions, and those who secretly awaken to a higher stage before their original stage is retired, do not retire but enter again. The wisdoms and stages of the Shared and Distinct Teachings should be analyzed in the same way.

Someone asks: Further cultivation after retirement may provide benefit. What benefit is there in retiring something without further cultivation?

The answer is that some receive benefit directly because the original mode of cultivation is retired. Others are rebuked and hear of its retirement; although they do not immediately cultivate further, they become ashamed of the baseness of the Lesser Vehicle and subdue their haste to seize realization, which remains beneficial. If one considers only whether their severance of the bonds is equal, one will think there is no benefit. In fact, the benefit lies in turning them from the lesser toward the great.

VIII. Opening and Revealing the Coarse Stages as the Wondrous Stages

Breaking the three teachings to reveal the one perfect teaching is relational wondrousness, whose meaning is as explained above. Understanding that the three are immediately the one is absolute wondrousness, whose meaning differs. Why? In the past, the real Dharma was already contained within the provisional Dharma, like the lotus seedpod contained in the blossom. Opening the provisional to reveal the real is like the blossom opening and the seedpod appearing. Apart from this blossom there is no other seedpod; apart from this coarse there is no other wondrous. Why first break the coarse stages and then go elsewhere to seek the wondrous? One need only open and determine the provisional stages for the wondrous stages to appear.

To open the coarse mind of an ordinary being in birth-and-death is to say that an ordinary being’s mind can transform again and again and therefore readily arouse the mind of bodhi. Birth-and-death is immediately nirvāṇa, with no difference between them; the coarse mind is immediately wondrous. If an ordinary being first gives rise in distinction to four kinds of mind—analytic emptiness, embodied emptiness, sequential entry into the middle, and perfectly integrated entry into the middle—these are also the initial minds of the four kinds of stages. All are minds arising through conditions. This conditioned mind is immediately empty, provisional, and middle, no different from the beginner’s mind in the Perfect Teaching. The various initial minds are like milk; opening and revealing their wondrousness resembles placing poison in milk so that it can kill. The poison may take effect slowly or quickly. When wondrousness is determined within the original stage, it becomes nominal wondrousness; when one enters expedient means, it becomes similar wondrousness; when one enters true principle, it becomes partial-true wondrousness.

The same applies to opening and determining the provisional practices of the six perfections. Giving is a conditioned dharma that is immediately empty, provisional, and middle. Opening and determining giving enables one to see buddha-nature; the same applies to ethical discipline, patience, vigor, dhyāna, and prajñā. This too is called placing poison in milk so that it can kill. When wondrousness is determined within the original stage, it is nominal wondrousness; upon entering expedient means, similar wondrousness; upon entering true principle, partial-true wondrousness. The same applies to opening the provisional to reveal the real for śrāvakas in expedient means who have not yet entered a stage.

If stages that have severed the bonds in the Tripiṭaka Teaching have not yet had the provisional opened, they resemble scorched seeds that cannot sprout and can never grow again. Now analytic emptiness is opened and determined as immediately provisional and middle, like placing poison in curds so that it can kill. When wondrousness is determined within the coarse stage, this is the similar stage; if one advances and enters, wondrousness is judged according to the stage entered.

The same applies to opening the two vehicles and bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching. For a Shared-Teaching bodhisattva who emerges into the provisional, determining that this provisional is immediately the middle resembles placing poison in raw ghee so that it can kill. When wondrousness is determined within the coarse stage, this is the similar stage; if one advances and enters, wondrousness is judged according to the stage entered.

Opening the ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching follows the preceding pattern; opening its ten abodes follows the pattern of the two vehicles; opening its ten practices follows that of the Shared-Teaching bodhisattva who emerges into the provisional. For the ten dedications, which subdue ignorance, determining the middle within that very stage is called placing poison in refined ghee so that it can kill. When wondrousness is determined within the coarse stage, this is the similar stage; if one advances and enters, wondrousness is judged according to the stage entered.

If those who have ascended to the grounds in the Distinct Teaching have still not been determined, theirs are merely stages of deliverance by clumsy means. Now this provisional is determined and opened so that the real is disclosed; this is placing poison in clarified essence so that it kills. When wondrousness is determined within the coarse stage, it is the stage of the ten abodes in the Perfect Teaching; if one advances and enters, wondrousness is judged according to the stage entered.

In sum, when the various provisional stages are determined and opened, some are wondrous within their original stage and some advance to enter the wondrous. Once they have been opened and determined, no coarse remains in relation to the wondrous; all become one wondrousness. The meaning is now clear.

Another simile explains this. When a great minister from a small kingdom comes to court in a great kingdom, he loses his rank in his original kingdom. Although he may be included among the court officials, his is only a nominal office beyond the fixed complement. Although a minor minister of the great kingdom has no high rank, the ruler depends on him as an intimate confidant, and other kingdoms therefore hold him in esteem. When the coarse is determined and opened into the wondrous across the stages of each teaching, all enter the same Dharma current; yet compared with the eight kinds of wondrous stages in the Perfect Teaching, they remain converts from dull faculties. As soon as a practitioner of the Perfect Teaching arouses the mind, though not yet formally entered into a stage, they already know the Tathāgata’s secret treasury and are therefore called a buddha. If this is so of the initial mind, how much more so of later stages?

IX. Establishing the Stages of the Four Teachings through Five Similes

We now cite five similes from the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra to establish the stages of the four teachings. Unless the four teachings are used to explain these similes, the similes cannot be understood; unless the five similes are used to judge the stages of the four teachings, the meaning of the stages is also difficult to accept in faith. When the scriptural text is accepted, the meaning of the stages becomes easy to understand; when the intent of the stages is understood, the scriptural similes become clear. Each side requires the other, and both may be said to reach fulfillment.

First Milk Simile

The scripture says, “An ordinary being is like milk; a stream-enterer is like curds; a once-returner is like raw ghee; a non-returner is like refined ghee; an arhat, pratyekabuddha, and buddha are like clarified essence.” This is a simile for the five stages of the Tripiṭaka Teaching.

An ordinary being is entirely raw and has not yet removed delusion; a Tripiṭaka bodhisattva likewise has not severed delusion, so both are only like milk. A stream-enterer breaks views and turns from ordinary to noble, like milk transforming into curds. A once-returner gradually encroaches upon six grades of thoughts and is therefore like raw ghee. A non-returner has completely severed the thoughts of the desire realm and is therefore like refined ghee. Arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and Tripiṭaka buddhas have all exhausted views and thoughts in the three realms and are therefore alike called clarified essence. Thus the Explanatory Treatise says that in the śrāvaka scriptures the ground of the arhat is called the ground of the buddha, and hence both are of one flavor.

Someone asks: In the present scripture, the Tripiṭaka bodhisattva is compared to a superior herb. Why is the bodhisattva here compared to the milk flavor?

The answer is that the present scripture takes the bodhisattva’s comparatively strong power to transform sentient beings, and so compares the bodhisattva to a superior herb. Here it takes the comparatively weak power of personal realization, and so places the bodhisattva together with ordinary beings in the milk flavor.

Second Milk Simile

The thirty-second fascicle of the Great Sūtra says, “An ordinary being is like milk mixed with blood; a stream-enterer and once-returner are like pure milk; a non-returner is like curds; an arhat is like raw ghee; a pratyekabuddha and bodhisattva are like refined ghee; a buddha is like clarified essence.” This is a simile for the five stages of the Shared Teaching.

An ordinary being has not yet severed delusion, so the milk is still mixed with blood. The first and second fruits have made only limited encroachments on thoughts, and so the second fruit is compared together with the first to pure milk. The third fruit has completely severed the thoughts of the desire realm and is therefore like curds. The fourth fruit has exhausted both views and thoughts and is therefore like raw ghee. A pratyekabuddha has sharper wisdom and also encroaches upon residual tendencies, slightly surpassing the śrāvaka, and so is compared together with the bodhisattva to refined ghee. The tenth ground of the Shared Teaching is called the buddha ground and is clarified essence.

The preceding simile placed the bodhisattva in the same flavor as an ordinary being, showing that it concerns the Tripiṭaka Teaching. This simile places the bodhisattva in the same flavor as a pratyekabuddha, showing that it concerns the Shared Teaching. Without the Shared Teaching as an explanation, how could the meaning of the simile become clear?

Third Milk Simile

The upper half of fascicle five ends here, and the lower half begins below. The treatise next cites the ninth fascicle of the Great Sūtra: “The buddha-nature of an ordinary being is like a newborn calf whose blood and milk have not yet separated; that of a śrāvaka is like pure milk; that of a pratyekabuddha is like curds; that of a bodhisattva is like raw ghee and refined ghee; that of a buddha is like clarified essence.” This is a simile for the five stages of the Distinct Teaching.

Milk represents ignorance, while blood represents the delusions of the four abodes. Ordinary beings possess both completely and are therefore called mixed with blood. The ten abodes of the Distinct Teaching have severed the blood of the four abodes and are equal to the two vehicles, so the śrāvaka is said to be like pure milk. At the last mind of the ten abodes, true principle grows clearer and wisdom sharper, resembling a pratyekabuddha’s encroachment on residual tendencies, and so it is like curds. The ten practices break dust-and-sand and are like raw ghee; the ten dedications break dust-and-sand beyond the three realms and are like refined ghee, and so the bodhisattva is said to be like raw and refined ghee. On ascending to the grounds, one breaks ignorance and reveals buddha-nature; one can manifest immeasurable bodies from a single body and display the eight marks of buddhahood throughout one hundred buddha-worlds, so the buddha is said to be like clarified essence.

Simile of the Forbearance Herb

The twenty-fifth fascicle of the Great Sūtra says, “On Snow Mountain there is an herb called Forbearance. If a cow eats it, the cow directly produces clarified essence.” The cow represents an ordinary being and the herb the noble eightfold path. To cultivate the noble eightfold path and immediately see buddha-nature is called obtaining clarified essence. This is a simile for the Perfect Teaching.

A practitioner of the Perfect Teaching travels the broad, direct path and contemplates all sentient beings as immediately the mark of nirvāṇa, never again to be extinguished. Perfect faith and perfect practice need not pass through distinct sequential stages; within a single life one enters the first abode and sees buddha-nature. This is like a cow that eats the forbearance herb and, without passing through the four flavors of milk, curds, raw ghee, and refined ghee, directly produces clarified essence. Thus we know that this is the intent of the Perfect Teaching. The forbearance herb represents the wondrous object, the cow wondrous wisdom, eating the herb wondrous practice, and producing clarified essence the wondrous stage: this is the perfect meaning. If a cow eats other grasses, blood and milk transform step by step, passing through four flavors before becoming clarified essence; this represents the coarse meaning in the objects, wisdoms, practices, and stages of the other expedient teachings.

The first four similes all speak of clarified essence in four different places. The buddha-wisdoms taught in the four teachings differ, yet all are called buddhas, so all take buddha-wisdom as clarified essence. The buddhas of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings do not elucidate the middle way; they take only the fruit-stage buddha’s wisdom of the two truths as clarified essence. In the Distinct Teaching, ascent to the grounds breaks ignorance and enables one to act as a buddha; it takes the wisdom of the middle-way principle as clarified essence. In the Perfect Teaching, the first abode gains the wisdom of the middle way, which is likewise called clarified essence. The suddenly awakened World-Honored One described in the Scripture of the Jeweled Necklace is used here to show that the wisdom of the first abode is clarified essence. The first two kinds of clarified essence are provisional and not real, so they exist only in doctrinal discourse without persons who actually correspond. The Distinct Teaching’s clarified essence is provisional in name but real in the principle realized. The Perfect Teaching’s clarified essence is real in both name and meaning. Thus the stages and five flavors of the first three teachings are coarse, while the single flavor of the Perfect Teaching is entirely wondrous.

Simile of Placing Poison in Milk

The twenty-seventh fascicle of the Great Sūtra says, “Suppose someone places poison in milk so that it can kill; down through clarified essence, it can likewise kill.” This simile has two applications.

First, it discusses indeterminacy across the gradual and sudden and shows that buddha-nature may be seen anywhere. Second, it discusses indeterminacy in a practitioner’s progress. A practitioner’s mental practice is like milk, while the wisdom of the true mark is like poison. Poison has the power to take life; wisdom of the true mark has the power to break ignorance. Since distant kalpas in the past, the poison of the true mark has already been spoken into the mind-milk of ordinary beings. When this poisonous wisdom will develop cannot be determined in advance: it may take effect in the first flavor or in a later flavor, and cannot be judged by a fixed sequence. Hence it is said that poison placed in milk continues down through clarified essence; every one of the five flavors has the meaning of killing.

If sentient beings first hear the Avataṃsaka Sūtra from the ground of ordinary beings and thereby see the real and enter buddha-wisdom, this is killing in blood-milk. If they had previously reached the ten abodes and now awaken on hearing the Avataṃsaka, this is killing in curds. Awakening in the ten practices is killing in raw ghee; awakening in the ten dedications is killing in refined ghee; and further awakening in the grounds is killing in clarified essence.

If one previously occupied the nominal or similar stage of the Perfect Teaching and now awakens on hearing the Avataṃsaka, the killing can likewise be distinguished according to one’s original stage as killing in milk, curds, raw ghee, or refined ghee. If one was previously in the abodes or practices and now hears the Avataṃsaka, increasing the path and diminishing birth-and-death, this is killing in clarified essence.

In the Tripiṭaka Teaching, if an ordinary being, someone in an expedient stage, or a bodhisattva hears the Tripiṭaka Teaching and secretly sees the middle way, this is killing in milk; if one in any of the four fruit stages secretly sees the middle way, this is killing in curds. Nothing like this exists in the publicly revealed Tripiṭaka Teaching.

In the Shared Teaching, if an ordinary being or someone in an expedient stage of any of the three vehicles hears the Shared Teaching and secretly sees buddha-nature, this is killing in milk; if one who has entered a stage secretly awakens, this is killing in curds; if a bodhisattva awakens within the wisdom of varieties of the path, this is killing in raw ghee; if one awakens at the ninth ground, this is killing in refined ghee; if at the tenth ground, this is killing in clarified essence. For a Shared-Teaching śrāvaka, killing occurs only secretly; there is no publicly revealed indeterminate meaning of killing.

In the Distinct Teaching, if someone in the ten faiths hears the teaching and awakens, this is killing in milk. Awakening within the thirty minds can be called killing in curds, raw ghee, and refined ghee in sequence. Awakening upon ascent to the grounds is killing in clarified essence.

In the Perfect Teaching, breaking ignorance and seeing buddha-nature upon first hearing the scripture is killing in milk; from purification of the six faculties onward, killing occurs in the flavors of curds, raw ghee, and refined ghee; from the first abode upward, killing occurs in clarified essence.

If a practitioner passes through the five flavors of the first four similes in the various teachings and enters the Perfect Teaching only at the final killing in clarified essence, this is breaking the three and revealing the one, or relational wondrousness. If poison placed in milk can kill at every flavor, this is opening the provisional to reveal the real: one sees the middle way immediately in all dharmas. Thus the scripture says, “What you practice is the bodhisattva path.” There is no need to change to another road or switch to another track in search of the real. One sees the wondrous immediately within the coarse, and so placing poison is used as the simile.

All scriptures possess the wondrousness of secretly placing poison, but they have not yet publicly revealed entry into the wondrous through the sequence of flavors, nor have they publicly determined and opened the coarse stages as immediately wondrous. Only in the Lotus Sūtra are both meanings complete: all share the jeweled vehicle and together open the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing; the revealed matter shines forth clearly. It alone is therefore called wondrous, and this is its intent.

Sequential entry into the wondrous and opening the coarse as immediately wondrous each have two levels: opening and entering within the original stage, or opening and entering through advancement. When it is said, “This scripture determines the śrāvaka Dharma and is the king of scriptures,” hearing it, reflecting in accordance with reality, and drawing near to the unsurpassed path reveal the wondrous within the original stage. When one thereby increases the path and diminishes birth-and-death, this is ascending and entering the wondrous. Hence the Lotus Sūtra alone is called wondrous.

X. The Beginning and End of the Wondrous Stages

Within the Dharma of suchness, no words can determine a sequence, and there is neither first ground nor second ground. Dharma-nature is equal and constantly quiescent; how should earlier and later, beginning and end, be distinguished? Yet the great wisdom of equality contemplates that the Dharma realm has no several distinctions, while still being able to break so many grades of ignorance and reveal so many grades of wisdom. Based on this wisdom, one speaks of a beginning where there is no beginning: the initial graph 阿. One speaks of an end where there is no end: the final graph 茶. One speaks of a middle where there is no middle: the forty minds between them. Although there are distinctions, they are immediately without distinction, and so these are called inconceivable stages.

As the intent of a later passage in the scripture explains, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas numerous as a bamboo grove, newly resolved bodhisattvas, and nonretrogressing bodhisattvas cannot know these stages; only assemblies of bodhisattvas whose power of faith is firm can know them. That śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot know excludes the two vehicles of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings. A Tripiṭaka bodhisattva’s wisdom that conditions the real does not even equal that of a śrāvaka; if a śrāvaka cannot know, how could this bodhisattva know? A Shared-Teaching bodhisattva’s wisdom that enters the real is the same as that of the two vehicles; if the two vehicles cannot know, that bodhisattva cannot know either.

By merely stating that the two vehicles cannot know, the scripture already includes the bodhisattvas in those two contexts among those unable to fathom the stages. “Newly resolved ones cannot know” refers to the ten faiths of the Distinct Teaching; “nonretrogressing ones cannot know” refers to its thirty minds. The ten abodes are nonretrogression of stage, the ten practices nonretrogression of practice, and the ten dedications nonretrogression of mindfulness; none of these three kinds of nonretrogression can know. Nonretrogression in the Tripiṭaka Teaching does not even equal the two vehicles, while nonretrogression in the Shared Teaching merely equals them. Since the two vehicles have already been said not to know, there is no need to mention the bodhisattvas of these two teachings again. The newly resolved and nonretrogressing ones marked here are therefore persons of the Distinct Teaching.

“Power of faith” means the nominal stage; “firm” means the iron-wheel stage of the ten faiths. Those at these stages can understand on hearing the scripture and therefore may be called wondrous: this is the beginning of the similar stage. First opening the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing and riding the jeweled cart through the eastern direction is the beginning of the true stage. The southern, western, and northern directions are the intermediate stages. Continuing straight to the place of the path, beyond the graph 茶 no graph can be spoken: this is the end of the wondrous stages.

What vehicle do those at these stages ride as they advance? There are three vehicles: the vehicle of teaching, the vehicle of practice, and the vehicle of realization. The scripture says that this vehicle leaves the three realms and abides in the knowledge of all modes. “Abiding” has two meanings: first, one obtains and abides in a fruit of realization, which is the meaning of the Shared Teaching; second, the vehicle reaches its culmination and abides, which is the meaning of the Distinct and Perfect Teachings.

A beginner relies upon the true principle expressed by the teaching, trusts the teaching and establishes practice, and thereby leaves the three realms. Because ignorance has not yet been broken, there is not yet true realization and one does not see the principle; one has merely ridden the vehicle of teaching to arrive here. Who is this in the Perfect Teaching? A disciple in the five grades. Such a person can skillfully arouse the great mind and forever bid farewell to the sea of the suffering-wheel of the three realms.

Once the vehicle of teaching has come to rest but the vehicle of realization has not yet arrived, a practitioner cultivates the various practices with the wisdom of similar understanding. Taking practice as the vehicle, one leaves the expedient three realms and comes to abide in the knowledge of all modes of the first abode. Who is this in the Perfect Teaching? One in the ten faiths, with the six faculties purified.

From the first abode through equal awakening, one continues to increase the path and diminish transformational birth-and-death. Taking realization as the vehicle, one leaves the three realms of conditions, through to the final three realms after which there are no more, and arrives at wondrous awakening. Beyond the graph 茶 no graph can be spoken; one is therefore said to have come to abide in the knowledge of all modes. Above the preceding vehicles there is still a higher Dharma, so they cannot be called ultimate abiding. Above the graph 茶 there is no higher Dharma, and so this is called abiding. Abiding without any fixed abiding place is the end of the wondrous stages.

Again, in the Distinct Teaching, the ten abodes break views and thoughts and travel three hundred yojanas; the ten practices break dust-and-sand and travel four hundred yojanas; the ten dedications subdue ignorance and travel five hundred yojanas; the ten grounds sever ignorance and see the middle way portion by portion, and only this is called the jeweled place.

In the Perfect Teaching, purification of the six faculties travels four hundred yojanas; breaking ignorance and entering the first abode travels five hundred yojanas. When those of the two vehicles hear the scripture, break the delusion of ignorance, open the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, and receive a prediction of buddhahood, the various coarse stages have been determined and opened; they have traveled five hundred yojanas and entered the first abode. This is the beginning of the wondrous stages: they gain the vehicle of realization and journey through the eastern direction.

If in the Origin Gate they further increase the path and diminish transformational birth-and-death, they still ride the vehicle of realization and journey through the southern direction, entering the ten practices; journeying through the western direction, they enter the ten dedications; journeying through the northern direction, they enter the ten grounds.

The scripture also says that when the Tathāgata’s distant lifespan was explained, six hundred and eighty myriads of koṭis of nayutas of persons, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, gained the forbearance of non-arising; this corresponds to the ten abodes. A thousand times as many bodhisattvas gained the dhāraṇī of hearing and retaining, corresponding to the ten practices. Bodhisattvas numerous as the dust motes of one world gained joyful eloquence, corresponding to the ten dedications. Bodhisattvas numerous as the dust motes of one world gained the revolving dhāraṇī, corresponding to the first ground. Those numerous as the dust motes of a trichiliocosm gained nonretrogression, corresponding to the second ground. Those numerous as the dust motes of two thousand lands could turn the pure Dharma wheel, corresponding to the third ground. Those numerous as the dust motes of a small chiliocosm would attain bodhi after eight births, corresponding to the fourth ground; after seven births, the fifth; after six, the sixth; after five, the seventh; after four, the eighth; after three, the ninth; after two, the tenth; after one, equal awakening. Beyond this one birth, beyond the graph 茶 no graph can be spoken: this is the ground of wondrous awakening, the end of the wondrous stages.

The preceding presentation of the stages has already cited these passages from the Lotus Sūtra. If those citations were moved here and combined into a single section, there would be no need to repeat them.

The Purpose of the Subtlety of the Three Dharmas and Its Seven Gates

Fifth is the subtlety of the three dharmas. These three dharmas are what people at the wondrous stages abide in after realizing the fruit described above.

The so-called three dharmas are the three tracks. “Track” means a rule or standard. Because the three dharmas can serve as the normative tracks followed by practitioners, they are called the three tracks. This major section has seven gates: first, explaining the three tracks in general; second, explaining each of the three tracks separately; third, judging coarse and wondrous; fourth, opening and revealing that coarse dharmas are originally wondrous; fifth, explaining the beginning and ultimate end of the three dharmas; sixth, using the three tracks to integrate the various sets of three dharmas; and seventh, resolving questions through the four siddhāntas.

First Gate: Explaining the Three Tracks in General

The three tracks are, first, the track of true nature; second, the track of contemplative illumination; and third, the track of supporting accomplishment. Although there are three names, in reality there is only one Great Vehicle Dharma.

The meaning of the scripture is this: search carefully throughout the ten directions and there is no other vehicle, only the One Buddha-Vehicle. This One Buddha-Vehicle itself fully possesses the three dharmas and is also called ultimate truth, the emptiness of ultimate meaning, and the tathāgata-garbha. These three dharmas cannot be fixed as three separate Dharmas. Precisely because they cannot be fixed as three, one can discuss one through the three. This one Dharma also cannot be fixed as a solitary Dharma. Precisely because it cannot be fixed as one, one can discuss three through the one. Their relation is inconceivable: the three are neither aligned side by side nor separated from one another. They are like the three dots of the siddham letter i, or like three eyes on a single face.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra therefore says that buddha-nature is also one, is not one, and is neither one nor not-one. “It is also one” because all sentient beings alike possess the One Vehicle; this statement refers to ultimate truth. “It is not one” because it can be described as enumerated dharmas such as these; this statement refers to the tathāgata-garbha. “It is neither one nor not-one” because enumerated and non-enumerated dharmas cannot be fixed; this statement refers to the emptiness of ultimate meaning. Each of the three statements includes “also” as an emphatic, repeated clarification. In reality there is only one Dharma, which can also bear three names. One therefore cannot take only one aspect, nor can several aspects be overlaid into a composite thing. They are neither vertically ordered before and after nor horizontally arranged left and right, but always three as one and one as three.

The various truths explained earlier—whether opened or combined, judged coarse or judged wondrous—have already disclosed the characteristics of the track of true nature. The various kinds of wisdom explained earlier—whether opened or combined, coarse or wondrous—have already disclosed the characteristics of the track of contemplative illumination. The various practices explained earlier—whether opened or combined, coarse or wondrous—have already disclosed the characteristics of the track of supporting accomplishment. The various stages explained earlier are simply the fruit realized by cultivating these three dharmas.

Since the preceding four subtleties have already explained them, why must the three dharmas be stated again? There are three reasons.

First, the preceding subtleties of objects, wisdom, and practice are the three tracks ridden by practitioners at the causal stages. The Great Vehicle discussed now has already reached the place of awakening and consists of the three tracks abided in after realization of the fruit.

Second, the preceding sections used the distinct names objects, wisdom, and practice and explained them separately. Here they are all called dharmas and explained together.

Third, the preceding sections explained their separate characteristics directly without tracing beginning and end. Traced to the most remote beginning, they are the three tracks of nature-virtue, also called the Tathāgata’s treasury. Traced to the ultimate end, they are the three tracks of cultivated virtue, also called the secret treasury. Between beginning and end they contain all Dharmas. From the three dharmas of nature-virtue arise the three dharmas of designation. On the basis of the three dharmas of designation, one cultivates the three dharmas of contemplative practice. From the three dharmas of contemplative practice arise the three dharmas of resemblance; these proceed through the three dharmas of partial realization and finally reach the three dharmas of the ultimate. One can both accomplish the three dharmas oneself and use them to transform others. For these three reasons, they should be explained again.

Zhang’an’s Appended Explanation

The recorder Zhang’an adds here: one statement is immediately three statements, and three statements are immediately one. This is called the Perfect Buddha-Vehicle. The master’s explanation recorded above opens various skillful means from the single statement on the tathāgata-garbha. Since that is only a specific judgment, by analogy all three statements should be opened generally.

“It is not one, because it consists of enumerated dharmas” indicates the tathāgata-garbha, from which open the phenomenal skillful means of the three vehicles in the Tripiṭaka Teaching. “It is neither one nor not-one, because enumerated and non-enumerated dharmas cannot be fixed” indicates the emptiness of ultimate meaning, from which open the paths of the three types of practitioners in the Shared Teaching who realize the true directly within phenomena. “It is also one, because all sentient beings alike possess the One Vehicle” indicates ultimate truth, from which opens the Distinct Teaching’s vehicle solely for bodhisattvas. All these skillful means open from the Perfect Buddha-Vehicle. The scripture therefore says that three vehicles are distinguished within the One Buddha-Vehicle. This is its meaning.

Second Gate: Explaining the Three Dharmas Separately

Before explaining them one by one, one must first know how the Tathāgata opens skillful means and then combines them back into the One Vehicle. Only after understanding this opening and combining can one understand how the three dharmas are comprehensively gathered to form one Great Vehicle.

From what Dharma does the Buddha open the various provisional vehicles? The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that buddha-nature is not one because three vehicles can be taught. One should therefore know that all vehicles distinguished by number are encompassed by the tathāgata-garbha. From this treasury the Buddha opens the vehicles of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, as well as the Shared and Distinct vehicles of bodhisattvas.

Why is this said? Since the various vehicles are skillful means, while the tathāgata-garbha in this correspondence belongs to phenomena, skillful means open from phenomena. The various provisional vehicles are therefore said to be encompassed by the tathāgata-garbha.

Scripture provides a threefold basis. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that the śrāvaka Saṅgha is called a conditioned Saṅgha. It also says that the six pāramitās are the adornment of merit, and that śrāvakas, because their power of concentration is great, do not see buddha-nature. From this one knows that the power of concentration belongs to merit and merit is conditioned. Within the three realms, for example, the delusions of views and thought have not yet been broken, so activity still occurs and is called conditioned. The principle attained does not accord and is therefore called contaminated. Because it is not the Dharma of Middle-Way wisdom, it is called merit. Looking from a lower stage toward a higher one should now be understood in the same way: those of the Two Vehicles have not yet broken through transformational birth-and-death and therefore remain conditioned; they have not yet escaped ignorance and are therefore called contaminated; what they have attained is not Middle-Way wisdom and is therefore called merit.

It follows that the various skillful vehicles are all encompassed by the track of supporting accomplishment. Each opens partially from the single statement of the Great Vehicle and is not ultimate Dharma. The scripture’s statement that three are distinguished within the One Buddha-Vehicle has precisely this meaning. One can likewise say that five, seven, or nine are distinguished within the One Buddha-Vehicle. Under this explanation, the single statement on the tathāgata-garbha opens the various skillful means and all Dharmas of the provisional vehicles.

The Three Dharmas of the Tripiṭaka Teaching

The three dharmas are next explained according to each of the Four Teachings.

In the Tripiṭaka Teaching, unconditioned wisdom is called the track of contemplative illumination and serves directly as the substance of the vehicle. Dharmas that assist the path become the vehicle’s equipment and are called the track of supporting accomplishment. The primary and auxiliary aspects of the vehicle sever delusion and enter the true; the truth entered is the track of true nature. Because the teaching comes to express these three, verbal teaching itself is called a vehicle.

The same applies to pratyekabuddhas. Bodhisattvas take contemplation of impermanence as the track of contemplative illumination, the enrichment of merit as the track of supporting accomplishment, and sitting at the place of awakening, severing the bonds, and seeing the true as the track of true nature. This teaching comes to express the true and is therefore the teaching-vehicle. Practitioners emerge from the three realms and abide in sarvajñā. At that point the work of verbal teaching is exhausted, so no teaching-vehicle remains. The truth realized cannot itself continue to transport, so realization is no longer a vehicle. Hence there is the wish to seek the great cart from the Buddha.

The Three Dharmas of the Shared Teaching

The Shared Teaching takes the track of true nature as the substance of the vehicle. Why? Form itself is emptiness; principle is originally present within phenomena, and this principle is true, so it serves as the vehicle’s substance. Wisdom that sees immediate emptiness is the track of contemplative illumination, and the various practices are the track of supporting accomplishment.

This teaching expresses the true and is therefore the teaching-vehicle. Practitioners leave the three realms and abide in sarvajñā. After emerging from the three realms, bodhisattvas continue to use practice as a vehicle, purify buddha-lands, and transform sentient beings; only when they reach the place of awakening can they be said to abide. This can also be described as teaching without a fixed person who abides in what is attained. When verbal teaching withdraws and realization returns to quiescence, the meaning of transport no longer remains. Thus there is likewise the wish to seek the great cart.

The Three Dharmas of the Distinct Teaching

The Distinct Teaching takes contemplative illumination cultivated through conditions as the substance of the vehicle, while the various practices are supporting accomplishment. These two Dharmas together form wisdom cultivated through conditions. Wisdom can break delusion and reveal principle, while principle itself cannot break delusion. If principle itself could break delusion, then since all sentient beings fully possess principle-nature, why would their delusions not be broken naturally? Only after practitioners obtain this wisdom can they break delusion; wisdom is therefore used as the vehicle’s substance.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra accordingly teaches that what is unconditioned and uncontaminated is called the bodhisattva Saṅgha, and that the wisdom of the first ground, second ground, through the tenth ground is called the adornment of wisdom. Because this wisdom transports practitioners through the ten grounds, it is the vehicle’s substance.

The Mahāyānasaṃgraha, however, is said to teach three vehicles: the vehicle of principle, the accompanying vehicle, and the attained vehicle. The vehicle of principle is suchness before cultivation of the path. The accompanying vehicle is the wisdom that contemplates suchness and accords with its object. The attained vehicle is the perfuming of nondiscriminating wisdom by all practices and vows, through which that wisdom accords with the nondiscriminating object and corresponds with suchness. At first glance these three levels resemble the three tracks, but their before and after have not yet been perfectly integrated.

Where does the problem lie? The ninth consciousness is described as suchness after cultivation of the path. Suchness itself does not engage phenomena, while the basic seeds of wisdom and practice are all perfumed and brought to fulfillment within ālaya-consciousness, after which the light of nondiscriminating wisdom is attained and true nature accomplished. The vehicle of principle is therefore originally present, while the accompanying and attained vehicles exist only now; only suchness after the path can finally transform sentient beings. Is this not a vertical sequence? If the three vehicles are also all encompassed by ālaya-consciousness, they become a horizontal arrangement and can easily be confused with primordial darkness giving birth to awareness. Vertical and horizontal at once, they conflict with the relation of the true siddham letter i.

When the Tathāgata first appeared in the world, he wished to teach the real directly. Because sentient beings could not bear it, he first used impermanence to dispel inversion, next used emptiness and purity to wash away attachments, then used sequentially differentiated Dharma gates to arouse their minds step by step, and only afterward revealed permanence, bliss, self, and purity. Nāgārjuna composed a treatise to clarify this intent of the Buddha. He first used the emptiness in which nothing can be obtained to wash away fixed attachments. When practitioners become accustomed to corresponding with the emptiness of all Dharmas, this is called corresponding with prajñā. Does this emptiness not empty ignorance? If ignorance is empty, where can its seeds be placed? Once all Dharmas have been purified, Dharmas are taught on the basis of emptiness and formed into four alternatives, but what is said remains profound and does not abide in attachment. It is like eating only after an illness has been cured, while the food eaten must still be digested.

How could one begin by insisting that all Dharmas arise from ālaya-consciousness? When the original views and conceit have not been subdued at all, rigidly grasping newly learned words only adds water to long-standing ice and thickens attachment. Thus the teaching of this treatise was not given specifically for heavily attached sentient beings of the latter age; it is only one Dharma gate beyond the realms.

One may ask further: if ālaya-consciousness fully possesses all Dharmas, how could it fail to possess suchness after cultivation of the path? If it possesses suchness, how can suchness be said not to be the eighth consciousness? This is perhaps still a skillful means opened from the tathāgata-garbha. If a skillful means is grasped as ultimate, it gravely obstructs the real. Even when its basis is real, attachment to it becomes a view made of words. This is like feeding an infant too much ghee and endangering the infant’s life. If one can understand well the intent of refutation and establishment, one can meet the various scriptures and treatises with purity and without obstruction.

The Three Dharmas of the Perfect Teaching

The Perfect Teaching takes the track of true nature as the substance of the vehicle. It is not false and is therefore called true; it does not change and is therefore called nature. It is the permanently abiding direct cause, the Dharma honored as teacher by all buddhas. All sentient beings alike possess the One Vehicle. Sentient beings are immediately the mark of nirvāṇa and cannot be extinguished again; nirvāṇa is immediately birth-and-death, without establishing an extinction apart from birth-and-death or a birth apart from nirvāṇa. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra is therefore cited as saying that this vehicle does not move and does not emerge. This is precisely the vehicle of the Perfect Teaching.

The track of contemplative illumination simply points out within true nature itself the aspect that is quiescent yet constantly illuminating; this is the emptiness of ultimate meaning. The track of supporting accomplishment simply points out within the Dharma realm of true nature the aspect that contains all practices and fully possesses immeasurable supporting conditions; this is the tathāgata-garbha.

The three dharmas are neither wholly identical nor different from one another. They are like separately speaking of a wish-fulfilling jewel’s radiance and treasure. Radiance and treasure do not bear the same name as the jewel, yet neither exists apart from it. The three dharmas are the same: they are also one, are not one, and are neither one nor not-one. They are the inconceivable three dharmas.

If one is deluded about these three dharmas, they become the three obstructions. First, dust-and-sand delusions within and beyond the realms obstruct the tathāgata-garbha. Second, the delusions of views and thought treated in the Shared and Distinct Teachings obstruct the emptiness of ultimate meaning. Third, fundamental ignorance obstructs the principle of ultimate meaning.

If one penetrates immeasurable Dharma gates right within dust-and-sand delusions, the track of supporting accomplishment is revealed. If one penetrates the emptiness of ultimate meaning right within the delusions of views and thought, the track of contemplative illumination is revealed. If one penetrates ultimate truth right within ignorance, the track of true nature is revealed. The revelation of the track of true nature is called Dharma-body; the revelation of contemplative illumination is called prajñā; the revelation of supporting accomplishment is called liberation. Contemplative illumination and supporting accomplishment are the adornment of concentration and wisdom that adorns the Dharma-body. The Dharma-body is the substance of the vehicle, while concentration and wisdom are its various pieces of equipment.

The scripture’s description of the cart as high and broad and adorned with many jewels has precisely this meaning. Practitioners of the Perfect Teaching ride this vehicle to sarvajñā. Once they pass beyond the graph 茶 (“tea”), no further graph can be spoken. Since no graph can be spoken, it would seem that no vehicle should remain to transport. In one’s own practice, when transport is complete, the function of the vehicle temporarily ceases. If the work of transforming others is not yet complete, transport of others does not cease. The scripture therefore means that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle and, according to the Dharma he has attained, adorns it with the powers of concentration and wisdom and uses it to liberate sentient beings.

When a driver has brought a cart to its destination, the implement is still called a cart. The vehicle at the fruit-stage is likewise still called transport.

Moreover, why must a vehicle be explained only through “transport”? In terms of true nature, it neither moves nor emerges and cannot be called only transport or only nontransport. In terms of contemplative illumination and supporting accomplishment, they can move and emerge and are therefore called transport. Yet moving and emerging are immediately not moving and not emerging; not moving and not emerging are immediately moving and emerging. Speaking from function to substance, moving and emerging are not moving and not emerging. Speaking from substance to function, not moving and not emerging are moving and emerging. Substance and function are originally nondual, yet may be spoken of as two aspects.

For example, turning and not turning can both be called avaivartika, nonretrogression; moving and not moving can both be called vinaya, discipline. According to this principle, setting forth and not setting forth can both be called a vehicle.

Third Gate: Judging Coarse and Wondrous

First consider the Tripiṭaka Teaching. It discusses the three dharmas as a vehicle within conditioned merit. The four establishments of mindfulness are wisdom from hearing, which rides the teaching-vehicle to the four wholesome roots. The four wholesome roots ride the practice-vehicle to seeing the truths. Seeing the truths then rides the realization-vehicle to the stage beyond learning. This is a provisional skillful Dharma. After leaving the three realms, practitioners take the true as realization, but after realization there is no further transport and the real Great Vehicle has not been seen. They therefore lament and blame themselves, wishing to ask the World-Honored One whether they have lost or not lost it. The half-word teaching is only gradual guidance, not ultimate meaning, so all three dharmas within it are coarse.

The Shared Teaching uses the wisdom of immediate emptiness as the vehicle of the three dharmas. Its method is more skillful, while the remaining meaning is largely the same. The ground of dry wisdom rides the teaching-vehicle to the ground of nature. The ground of nature rides the practice-vehicle to the ground of eight persons and the ground of seeing. Those grounds ride the realization-vehicle into realization. This is still a partial teaching and is therefore coarse.

The Distinct Teaching uses supporting accomplishment to assist contemplative illumination and contemplative illumination to open and reveal true nature; the three dharmas together form the vehicle. The ten faiths ride the teaching, the ten abodes ride the practice, and the ten grounds ride realization until abiding in sarvajñā at wondrous awakening. Once cultivation through conditions is accomplished, it withdraws and only true cultivation remains. On this account, supporting accomplishment comes first, contemplative illumination comes in the middle, and true nature comes last. The three are vertically separated before and after and cannot form the Great Vehicle. They are also separately juxtaposed and horizontally divided, and likewise cannot form the Great Vehicle. This remains a skillful Dharma and is therefore coarse.

The Perfect Teaching points directly to the true mark as the emptiness of ultimate meaning. If one looks only at the word “emptiness,” it seems to fall into a vertical sequence. Yet the emptiness of ultimate meaning is immediately the true mark. Since the true mark is not vertical, how could this emptiness be vertical? It also points directly to the true mark as the tathāgata-garbha. If one looks only at the word “treasury,” it seems to fall into horizontal arrangement. Yet the tathāgata-garbha is immediately the true mark. Since the true mark is not horizontal, how could this treasury be horizontal? It cannot be conceived vertically or horizontally and is therefore called the inconceivable Dharma, which is wondrous.

Someone may object: if emptiness and the treasury are pointed out as the true mark, while emptiness seems vertical and the treasury horizontal, how can the true mark be neither vertical nor horizontal? The answer must be seen in their immediate identity. When emptiness is pointed out as the tathāgata-garbha, since emptiness is not horizontal, how could the treasury be horizontal? When the tathāgata-garbha is pointed out as emptiness, since the treasury is not vertical, how could emptiness be vertical? When the true mark is pointed out as emptiness and the treasury, since the true mark is neither vertical nor horizontal, emptiness and the treasury are likewise neither vertical nor horizontal. The three turn and are immediately identical with one another. They are inconceivable and therefore called wondrous.

Breadth is pointed out in terms of the tathāgata-garbha, so the great cart is said to be high and broad. Height is pointed out in terms of the emptiness of ultimate meaning, so the cart is said to be high and broad. Because the tathāgata-garbha is the true mark, the cart cannot be fixed as broad. Because the emptiness of ultimate meaning is the true mark, the cart cannot be fixed as high. Yet the true mark is immediately emptiness—how could it not be high? The true mark is immediately the tathāgata-garbha—how could it not be broad?

The true mark is further pointed out as the tathāgata-garbha, so the cart is said to be adorned with many jewels and attended by many servants. The true mark is pointed out as the emptiness of ultimate meaning, so there is said to be a great white ox, strong and powerful, walking evenly and running as swiftly as the wind. Wisdom is unstained and is therefore called white. It can break delusion and is therefore called powerful. Middle-Way wisdom is called even. Entry into effortless practice is said to be swift as the wind. The inconceivable three dharmas together form one great cart. How could there still be differences of vertical and horizontal, juxtaposition and separation?

This teaching-vehicle, neither vertical nor horizontal, is ridden by practitioners of the five grades and reaches understanding by resemblance. This practice-vehicle, neither vertical nor horizontal, is ridden by those with understanding by resemblance and reaches the ten abodes. This realization-vehicle, neither vertical nor horizontal, is ridden by those at the ten abodes and reaches abiding in sarvajñā at wondrous awakening. It is therefore called the wondrous vehicle. Scripture also calls this vehicle wondrous, pure, and foremost.

When a lecture was given at Waguan Temple, someone dreamed that listeners rode out in carts and carriages, filling the gate. When a lecture was given elsewhere, someone dreamed of people in yellow robes filling the road. Judged by these signs, wrong and right were already clear.

The various coarse and wondrous vehicles can further be judged according to the five flavors: the milk teaching has one coarse and one wondrous; the curds teaching has only one coarse; raw ghee has three coarse and one wondrous; refined ghee has two coarse and one wondrous. Other scriptures all carry vertical and horizontal skillful means while teaching the reality that is neither vertical nor horizontal, so their aspect of skillful means is called coarse. The present scripture directly casts aside skillful means and is therefore specially given the name wondrous.

Fourth Gate: Opening the Coarse to Reveal the Wondrous

Opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous is explained through the three statements on buddha-nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.

First, the scripture says that buddha-nature is also one because all sentient beings alike possess the One Vehicle. This is the One Vehicle that neither moves nor emerges. It originally fully possesses the three dharmas and is neither vertical nor horizontal. All who have mind possess this principle, yet it is like every member of a family, old and young, failing to know about the treasure in their own house; it is therefore called coarse. Now the treasury of awakening is shown to sentient beings, the weeds are cleared away, and the hidden gold is opened and revealed. All unobstructed people leave birth-and-death along one path. Search carefully throughout the ten directions: there is no other vehicle, only the One Buddha-Vehicle. It is therefore called wondrous.

Second, the scripture says that buddha-nature is neither one nor not-one because enumerated and non-enumerated dharmas cannot be fixed. If one grasps that wisdom cultivated through conditions must necessarily reveal principle, while wisdom itself is not principle, then the function of illumination remains unclear and buddha-nature is not seen; this is therefore called coarse. Now that wisdom is opened from fixed attachment into unfixed wisdom: wisdom is immediately principle, and principle immediately wisdom. One does not cling to enumerated dharmas by fixing them as three or one; nor does one cling to what is not enumerated by fixing it as neither three nor one. Only this is called unattached wondrous wisdom.

This wisdom can break every fixed and unfixed characteristic without clinging to what breaks or what is broken. It is like a wheel-turning king who both quells disorder and brings peace, like the sun that dispels darkness and nurtures living things, and like a physician who removes a film from the eye and then cares for the eyeball. This is the wondrous wisdom of the Great Vehicle that is neither vertical nor horizontal.

Third, the scripture says that buddha-nature is not one because three vehicles can be taught. This includes the three, five, seven, and other kinds of skillful vehicles. If one abides in these vehicles, what is attained is only phenomenal good and partial truth; the place entered remains near and is therefore called coarse. If the various vehicles are now decisively understood as immediately the tathāgata-garbha, while the treasury is called buddha-nature, then from the wholesome deeds of humans and gods through the Distinct Teaching’s bodhisattva vehicle, every Dharma enters the wondrous immediately without moving from its original basis.

Thus, the three statements encompass all Dharmas. No Dharma is other than buddha-nature, and every Dharma is wondrous. With no separate coarse Dharma left to stand in relation, this is absolute wondrousness.

Fifth Gate: The Beginning and Ultimate End of the Three Dharmas

The beginning of the three dharmas is not taken to be the teaching-vehicle at the five grades. Instead, the beginning of the three dharmas is one thought in the mind of an ordinary person, which fully possesses the ten Dharma realms and the ten suchnesses in each realm.

Why? The ten suchnesses are precisely the three tracks. Such-a-substance is the track of true nature. Such-a-nature, spoken in terms of the inner, is the track of contemplative illumination. Such-a-mark, spoken in terms of the outer, is merit and thus the track of supporting accomplishment. Such-a-power is the understanding-cause and belongs to contemplative illumination. Such-a-function is diligent performance of the myriad practices and belongs to supporting accomplishment. Such-a-cause is the habituation-cause and belongs to contemplative illumination. Such-a-condition is the recompense-cause and belongs to supporting accomplishment. Such-a-fruit is the habituation-fruit and belongs to contemplative illumination. Such-a-recompense is habituated recompense and belongs to supporting accomplishment. Within such-a-consummation-of-beginning-and-end, equality in emptiness belongs to contemplative illumination, equality in provisionality to supporting accomplishment, and equality in the Middle to true nature. This first discusses the three tracks solely in terms of the ten suchnesses of a single Dharma realm.

Proceeding further, a single thought of an ordinary person fully possesses the ten Dharma realms. Every realm has the nature and characteristics of affliction, the nature and characteristics of evil karma, and the nature and characteristics of the path of suffering.

When the nature and characteristics of ignorance and affliction are present, they are immediately the nature and characteristics of the wisdom of contemplative illumination. Why? Ignorance arises because illumination is misconstrued. If ignorance is understood, it is immediately illumination. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra means that when ignorance is transformed, it becomes illumination. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra means that ignorance itself is illumination. Thus, illumination cannot be found apart from ignorance, just as ice is water and water is ice.

The ten realms fully possessed in an ordinary person’s single thought likewise all have the nature and characteristics of evil karma. The nature and characteristics of evil are immediately the nature and characteristics of good. Because there is evil, there is good to be disclosed; apart from evil there is no good that can be transformed into. Transforming the various evils is precisely the supporting accomplishment of good. Bamboo, for example, has the potential for fire. Before it becomes actual fire, it possesses the potential without burning. When conditions make fire an actual event, it can burn things. Evil immediately possesses the nature of good but has not yet become a wholesome event. When conditions make it an event, it can transform evil. Fire emerges from bamboo and turns back to burn the bamboo; good exists within evil, and when good is accomplished it turns back to break evil. Therefore, the nature and characteristics of evil are immediately the nature and characteristics of good.

An ordinary person’s single thought also possesses the nature and characteristics of the path of suffering—the consciousness, name-and-form, and so forth—of all ten realms. Deluded about this path of suffering, birth-and-death stretches vast and boundless. This is the Dharma-body misconstrued as the path of suffering; there is no separate Dharma-body apart from the path of suffering. It is like mistaking south for north, when there is no other south elsewhere. When one awakens to birth-and-death, birth-and-death is immediately the Dharma-body. Thus, the nature and characteristics of the path of suffering are the nature and characteristics of the Dharma-body.

All who have mind possess the nature and characteristics of the three paths—affliction, karma, and suffering—and these are immediately the nature and characteristics of the three tracks. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra therefore means that the class of afflictions is precisely the seed of the Tathāgata.

Such-a-power and such-a-function mean that the aspiration for bodhi arises and the three dharmas, including true nature, begin to stir. Such-a-cause is the stirring of contemplative illumination. Such-a-condition is the stirring of supporting accomplishment. Through the stirring of contemplative illumination, such-a-fruit becomes a habituation-cause and brings the habituation-fruit of prajñā to fulfillment. Through the stirring of supporting accomplishment, such-a-recompense becomes a conditioning cause and brings the recompense-fruit of liberation to fulfillment. When fruit and recompense are fulfilled, the Dharma-body is likewise fulfilled. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the three virtues and is called the secret treasury.

Such-a-consummation-of-beginning-and-end means that the three tracks of nature-virtue are concealed yet neither vertical nor horizontal, while the three tracks of cultivated virtue are manifest yet likewise neither vertical nor horizontal. Concealed, they are equal in suchness, equal in number, and equal in wondrousness. Manifest, they are also equal in suchness, equal in number, and equal in wondrousness; hence they are called equal. They can also be spoken of as equality in emptiness, equality in provisionality, and equality in the Middle.

Sixth Gate: Integrating Ten Sets of Three Dharmas

The preceding account extends from the beginning of the three tracks to their ultimate end. This is unobstructed vertical integration from lower to higher. Now the various Dharmas are also to be integrated horizontally so that they are unobstructed everywhere. The various sets of three dharmas are therefore compared and connected with the three tracks. Their names differ only in response to different causes and capacities; once the meaning is understood, one knows that their referents agree. Ten sets are presented as an outline, from which the rest can be understood: the three paths, three consciousnesses, three buddha-natures, three prajñās, three bodhis, three Great Vehicles, three bodies, three nirvāṇas, the Three Jewels in one substance, and the three virtues.

There are immeasurably many sets of three dharmas. Only ten are selected here in order to present the essentials and explain their beginning and end. The round of the three paths is the fundamental Dharma of birth-and-death and is therefore placed first. To reverse the current of birth-and-death, one must understand the three consciousnesses, know the three buddha-natures, bring forth the three wisdoms, arouse the three aspirations for bodhi, practice the three Great Vehicles, realize the three bodies, and accomplish the three nirvāṇas. One becomes the Three Jewels and benefits all sentient beings. When the conditions for transformation are exhausted, one enters the three virtues and abides in the secret treasury.

1. Integrating the Three Paths

The track of true nature is the path of suffering, the track of contemplative illumination is the path of affliction, and the track of supporting accomplishment is the path of karma.

The path of suffering is the track of true nature because a later passage says that the characteristics of the world constantly abide. Does this not disclose the Dharma-body right within birth-and-death? Affliction is the track of contemplative illumination because contemplative illumination originally illuminates delusion; without delusion, there would be no illumination to discuss. This is the emptiness of all Dharmas. The scripture says that all Dharmas from the beginning constantly bear the characteristics of quiescent extinction, which precisely discloses that affliction is contemplative illumination. Illumination is also like fire arising from fuel. The scripture further says that before the buddhas of the past, those who heard even one statement all already accomplished the Buddha-path; it also says that those who deeply penetrate the characteristics of wrongdoing and merit illuminate throughout the ten directions. This is precisely hearing the wondrous statement that penetrates affliction at its root.

The track of supporting accomplishment is the path of karma because evil can serve as a supporting condition for good; without evil there would be no way for good to become manifest. The scripture says that evil spirits enter the minds of those people and cause them to abuse and insult me; because we are mindful of the Buddha, we should all endure this. If evil did not come and press upon one, there would be no occasion to employ mindfulness of the Buddha. Mindfulness of the Buddha arises precisely because evil presses upon one.

Again, in the time of the Buddha King of Majestic Sound, people attached to existing Dharmas heard what Bodhisattva Never Disparaging said and abused, reviled, struck, and threw things at him. Precisely because of this evil karma, they later encountered Never Disparaging again, received his teaching, and all attained nonretrogression. Devadatta is likewise called a wholesome spiritual friend. Does this not show evil immediately becoming support?

Thus, the three tracks are the three paths. At the level of principle, one practices in what is not the path and penetrates the Buddha-path. At the five grades, contemplative practice proceeds in what is not the path and penetrates the Buddha-path. At purification of the six sense faculties, resemblance proceeds in what is not the path and penetrates the Buddha-path. From the ten abodes onward, partial realization proceeds in what is not the path and penetrates the Buddha-path. At wondrous awakening, one ultimately proceeds in what is not the path and penetrates the Buddha-path.

2. Integrating the Three Consciousnesses

Amala-consciousness is the track of true nature, ālaya-consciousness is the track of contemplative illumination, and ādāna-consciousness is the track of supporting accomplishment.

Masters of the Treatise on the Ten Grounds say that ālaya-consciousness is encompassed by true, permanent, pure consciousness. Other Mahāyāna masters say that ālaya is a karmically indeterminate consciousness of latent ignorance, also called the non-disappearing consciousness, while only the ninth consciousness is called pure consciousness. The two sides dispute one another. A nearby situation can now be used to infer what is remote. How could one person’s mind have a fixed, unchanging nature? When one does good, it is wholesome consciousness; when one does evil, it is unwholesome consciousness; when one does neither good nor evil, it is karmically indeterminate consciousness. How could these three consciousnesses suddenly be mutually incompatible like water and fire? In fact, turning away from good is doing evil, turning away from evil is doing good, and turning away from both good and evil is becoming indeterminate. They are simply three minds arising in one person. The three consciousnesses should be understood in the same way.

If seeds of birth-and-death in ālaya-consciousness are perfumed and grow, they become discriminating consciousness. If seeds of wisdom within it are perfumed by hearing the Dharma and grow, the basis is transformed into suchness after attainment of the path and is called pure consciousness. If it differs from both these conditions, it is simply ālaya-consciousness. This is again speaking of three within one Dharma and one within the three.

The Mahāyānasaṃgraha uses gold, earth, defilement, and purity as a simile: defilement represents the six consciousnesses, gold represents pure consciousness, and earth represents ālaya-consciousness. The explicit text stands here; why labor over dispute?

Scripture further gives the simile of someone who visits a close friend’s house and lies down drunk. Is this not ālaya-consciousness? Wandering madly and confused in the world after discriminating consciousness has arisen, seeking food and clothing—is this not ādāna-consciousness? The seeds perfumed by hearing gradually arise and grow; the person meets the close friend, who points out the jewel in the robe—is this not amala-consciousness? Amala-consciousness is called the light of nondiscriminating wisdom.

If ālaya-consciousness has this seed of wisdom, then at the level of principle it is the light of nondiscriminating wisdom. At the five grades, it is the light of nondiscriminating wisdom in contemplative practice. At purification of the six sense faculties, it is the light of nondiscriminating wisdom by resemblance. From the first abode onward, it is the light of nondiscriminating wisdom in partial realization. At wondrous awakening, it is the ultimate light of nondiscriminating wisdom. Coarse and wondrous can likewise be judged in this way.

3. Integrating the Three Buddha-Natures

The track of true nature is buddha-nature as direct cause, the track of contemplative illumination is buddha-nature as understanding-cause, and the track of supporting accomplishment is buddha-nature as conditioning cause.

A later passage therefore says: “You truly are my son; I truly am your father.” This is buddha-nature as direct cause. It also says that because I formerly taught you the unsurpassed path, the vow for all-wisdom still remains and has not been lost. Wisdom here is buddha-nature as understanding-cause, while the vow is buddha-nature as conditioning cause. It further says: “I do not dare disparage you; all of you will become buddhas.” This is buddha-nature as direct cause. At that time the fourfold assembly read and recited the various scriptures, which is buddha-nature as understanding-cause; they cultivated various merits, which is buddha-nature as conditioning cause.

The scripture further says that the elder’s sons may number ten, twenty, or even thirty. These are the three kinds of buddha-nature. It also says that the meanings of the various natures and characteristics have all been known and seen. Since it speaks of various natures, the three kinds of buddha-nature are included.

Knowing that the three tracks are the three buddha-natures is called buddha-nature at the level of principle. At the five grades, one sees buddha-nature through contemplative practice. At purification of the six sense faculties, one sees buddha-nature by resemblance. From the ten abodes through equal awakening, one sees buddha-nature through partial realization. At wondrous awakening, one ultimately sees buddha-nature. It is therefore called wondrous.

4. Integrating the Three Prajñās

The track of true nature is prajñā of the true mark, the track of contemplative illumination is prajñā of contemplative illumination, and the track of supporting accomplishment is prajñā of written words. Their characteristics are as already explained in the preceding subtleties of objects, wisdom, and practice.

A later passage therefore says, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak; my Dharma is wondrous and difficult to conceive.” It also says, “This Dharma cannot be shown; the characteristics of words are quiescent and extinct.” This is prajñā of the true mark. It further says that only I and the buddhas of the ten directions can know this characteristic; only a buddha together with a buddha can ultimately exhaust it; and the wisdom I have attained is wondrous and foremost. These are prajñā of contemplative illumination.

It also says: I always know whether sentient beings practice the path or do not practice it, and according to how they may be liberated I teach various Dharmas for them. Various expressions offered as skillful means according to what is suitable are prajñā of written words. It further says that the Tathāgata’s knowing and seeing is vast, great, profound, and far-reaching. Vastness, greatness, profundity, and far-reachingness are prajñā of the true mark. The Tathāgata’s knowing and seeing that accords with this vastness, greatness, profundity, and far-reachingness is prajñā of contemplative illumination. When skillful means and knowing and seeing are said to be fully complete, that is prajñā of written words.

Thus, the three tracks are simply different names for the three prajñās. If the three kinds of wisdom are divided among three minds and belong to three people, they are coarse. If the three kinds of wisdom are in one mind, neither vertical nor horizontal, they are wondrous at the level of principle. At the five grades are the three prajñās of contemplative practice; at purification of the six sense faculties, the three prajñās by resemblance; at the forty minds, the three prajñās of partial realization; and at wondrous awakening, the ultimate three prajñās.

5. Integrating the Three Bodhis

The track of true nature is bodhi of the true mark, the track of contemplative illumination is bodhi of real wisdom, and the track of supporting accomplishment is bodhi of skillful means.

A later passage therefore says: Did I not previously say that all of you would attain unsurpassed complete awakening? It also says, “Neither real nor false, neither thus nor different, not seeing the three realms as [beings in] the three realms see them.” This is bodhi of the true mark. It further says that since I attained the path, an exceedingly long time has passed. This is bodhi of real wisdom. It also says that I was young when I left home, and attained bodhi near Gayā City. This is bodhi of skillful means.

When the three bodhis are explained in terms of disciples, the scripture says that whenever I encounter sentient beings, I teach them all the Buddha-path. This is bodhi of the true mark. It also says: abiding in real wisdom, I will certainly become a buddha; buddha-children who have completed the practice of the path will become buddhas in a future life; and riding this jeweled vehicle, they go directly to the place of awakening. These are all bodhi of real wisdom accomplished through cultivation. Bestowing on disciples a prediction of awakening through the eight signs is bodhi of skillful means.

They cannot be said to be one, nor can they be said to differ; this is called suchness. When they are not decisively understood, they are called coarse; when decisively understood, wondrous. All sentient beings possess bodhi at the level of principle. At the five grades is bodhi in designation; at purification of the six sense faculties, bodhi by resemblance; at the forty-one stages, bodhi through partial realization; and at wondrous awakening, ultimate bodhi.

6. Integrating the Three Great Vehicles

The track of true nature is the vehicle of principle, the track of contemplative illumination is the accompanying vehicle, and the track of supporting accomplishment is the attained vehicle.

A later passage therefore says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle and, according to the Dharma he has attained, adorns it with the powers of concentration and wisdom. Abiding in the Great Vehicle is the vehicle of principle, the adornment of concentration and wisdom is the accompanying vehicle, and the Dharma attained is the attained vehicle. One can also say that the Buddha himself abiding in the Great Vehicle is the vehicle of principle; knowing at the place of awakening is the accompanying vehicle; and the guide’s skillful teaching is the attained vehicle.

It further says to Śāriputra that the Dharma of three vehicles is taught because of an original vow. This is the attained and accompanying vehicles. It also says that this vehicle is wondrous, pure, and foremost. This is the vehicle of principle. When it says that three are distinguished within the One Buddha-Vehicle, “the One Buddha-Vehicle” is the vehicle of principle, while “distinguished as three” is the attained and accompanying vehicles.

The three vehicles are neither vertical nor horizontal and are therefore wondrous. How the coarse is opened into the wondrous can also be understood according to the preceding meaning, and the stages can be explained accordingly. At the five grades is the vehicle in designation; at purification of the six sense faculties, the vehicle by resemblance; at the forty-one stages, the vehicle through partial realization; and at wondrous awakening, the ultimate vehicle.

7. Integrating the Three Bodies

The track of true nature is the Dharma-body, the track of contemplative illumination is the recompense-body, and the track of supporting accomplishment is the response-body.

The “New Golden Light” says that on the basis of the Dharma-body there can be a recompense-body, and on the basis of the recompense-body there can be a response-body. This is precisely like the preceding explanation that the subtlety of wisdom arises on the basis of the subtlety of objects, and the subtlety of practice arises on the basis of the subtlety of wisdom. Another scripture says that the Buddha’s true Dharma-body is like empty space and appears in response to things like the moon in water. The recompense-body is like the moon in the sky.

The scripture cited by this treatise says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle. This is the body of the true mark, like empty space. It also says that he is adorned by the powers of concentration and wisdom: wisdom is like the moon in the sky, while concentration is like the moon in water. It further says that only a buddha together with a buddha can ultimately exhaust the true mark of all dharmas; this is the Dharma-body. “The wisdom I have attained is wondrous and foremost” is the recompense-body. “His name is universally heard” is the response-body.

Not being born yet manifesting birth and the like belongs to the response-body. Sometimes the Buddha manifests his own body, which is the Dharma-body and recompense-body; sometimes he manifests another’s body, which is the recompense-body and response-body. It is further said: “I adorn my body with marks, light illuminates the ten directions, and I teach the seal of the true mark for sentient beings.” The seal of the true mark is the Dharma-body, illumination of the ten directions is the response-body, and the body adorned with marks is the recompense-body. It is also said that deeply penetrating the characteristics of wrongdoing and merit and universally illuminating the ten directions is the recompense-body; the wondrous and pure Dharma-body is the Dharma-body; and possessing the thirty-two marks is the response-body.

Thus, the three tracks differ only in name and mean the three bodies. The Sūtra on the Practice of Contemplating Bodhisattva Samantabhadra says that the Buddha’s three kinds of body arise from the vaipulya teachings. The Treatise on the Nature of the Dharma Realm uses the simile of mercury combined with true gold, which can coat images of many colors: qualities combined with the Dharma-body can likewise appear responsively everywhere.

When these three bodies are neither vertical nor horizontal, they are wondrous. When the three bodies are decisively understood as all entering the Dharma-body, they are likewise wondrous. The wondrousness of the various stages can also be explained accordingly.

8. Integrating the Three Nirvāṇas

Masters of the Treatise on the Ten Grounds say that there are only two kinds: nirvāṇa of intrinsic purity and nirvāṇa of expedient purity. The true mark is called nirvāṇa of intrinsic purity, while what is accomplished through cultivated causes is called nirvāṇa of expedient purity.

Here, however, originally endowed principle is called nirvāṇa of intrinsic purity, while what is accomplished through cultivated causes is called nirvāṇa of complete purity; this better accords with the meaning. The exhaustion of fuel and extinction of fire is called nirvāṇa of expedient purity, which better accords with the scriptural wording. If what is accomplished through cultivated causes is called nirvāṇa of expedient purity, what kind of nirvāṇa would the exhaustion of fuel and extinction of fire be? Thus, one knows that there should be three kinds of nirvāṇa, and these three nirvāṇas are the three tracks.

The scripture says that this Dharma cannot be shown and the characteristics of words are quiescent and extinct; it also says that all Dharmas from the beginning constantly bear the characteristics of quiescent extinction. This is nirvāṇa of intrinsic purity. It further says that all are made to attain extinction through the Tathāgata’s extinction. This is nirvāṇa of complete purity. It also says that since I became a buddha, an exceedingly long time has passed. This was attained through the long cultivation of karmic practices, with the light of wisdom illuminating immeasurably; it too belongs to nirvāṇa of complete purity.

Repeatedly proclaiming birth, manifesting extinction everywhere, and even attaining extinction on this very night like fire going out when its fuel is spent—how could this not be nirvāṇa of expedient purity?

The title of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is “Great Parinirvāṇa,” translated as great extinction and crossing over. “Great” refers to the breadth of its nature and is explained through intrinsic purity. “Crossing over” means reaching the other shore and the fulfillment of wisdom and is explained through complete purity. “Extinction” means that afflictions are forever exhausted and the virtue of severance accomplished and is explained through expedient purity. These three nirvāṇas are the three tracks.

9. Integrating the Three Jewels in One Substance

The track of true nature is the Dharma Jewel, the track of contemplative illumination is the Buddha Jewel, and the track of supporting accomplishment is the Saṅgha Jewel.

Dharma-nature is unmoving and is not itself called awakening. Buddha-wisdom accords with principle, so Buddha is called awakened. The Saṅgha is called harmonious because there is harmony in phenomena and harmony in principle. The Viseṣacintibrahma-paripṛcchā Sūtra says: knowing awakening is called Buddha, knowing separation is called Dharma, and knowing nothingness is called Saṅgha. These are the Three Jewels in one substance.

A later passage therefore says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle: Buddha is the Buddha Jewel and the Great Vehicle the Dharma Jewel. It also says that according to the Dharma he has attained, he uses it to liberate sentient beings. This means harmony above with principle and harmony below with sentient beings and is therefore the Saṅgha Jewel. “The characteristics of the world constantly abide” is the Dharma Jewel. “Knowing at the place of awakening” is the Buddha Jewel. “The guide teaches through skillful means” means harmony above with principle and harmony below with sentient beings and is the Saṅgha Jewel.

The Three Jewels in one substance are one substance without erasing the three, and three without separating from one another. These three and one are neither vertical nor horizontal and are therefore called wondrous. The stages can also be explained accordingly.

10. Integrating the Three Virtues

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra teaches that the three virtues together accomplish great nirvāṇa; the present scripture teaches that the three tracks together accomplish the Great Vehicle. The former teaches the virtue of Dharma-body, while the present scripture teaches the true mark. The former says that buddha-nature is also one because all sentient beings possess the One Vehicle, which is likewise to point out the true mark as the One Vehicle.

The former teaches the virtue of prajñā. The present scripture says that the Buddha’s gateway of wisdom is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. It further says that the wisdom I have attained is wondrous and foremost, continuing through decisively clarifying the Dharma of śrāvakas and being king among the scriptures. All these belong to prajñā.

The former teaches the virtue of liberation. The present scripture says that the Buddha manifests repeatedly, manifesting birth and manifesting extinction wherever sentient beings should be trained. The Buddha himself is free of fetters and also brings others to liberation; he gathers the merits in all wholesome activities and enables sentient beings to realize the fruit. How could this not be liberation?

The meanings of the two scriptures agree, yet dull people who fail to examine them understand them differently merely because the names differ. This is like hearing the name Heavenly Lord and not recognizing that it is Kauśika. They know only the passages on buddha-nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra but fail to see that beneath the twin śāla trees there is also the purport of the One Vehicle. That scripture itself says that buddha-nature is also one, and one is the One Vehicle. Yet some say that only the One Vehicle of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is buddha-nature, while the One Vehicle of the Lotus Sutra is not buddha-nature.

If the Lotus Sutra did not reveal buddha-nature, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra should not refer back to eight thousand śrāvakas receiving predictions in the Lotus Sutra, like autumn harvest and winter storage, seeing the Tathāgata’s nature, and having nothing further to do. Some again say that although the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra has this passage referring back, the present scripture does not contain the term buddha-nature.

Now, according to the present scripture, the Buddha says that he has seen all the meanings of the various natures and characteristics. Since it says “various,” why should buddha-nature alone be excluded? The scripture further says that the characteristics of the world constantly abide, that this was known at the place of awakening, and that the guide teaches it through skillful means. Is this not wording concerning buddha-nature? The treatise also speaks of “the water of buddha-nature [and] Never Disparaging,” showing that Never Disparaging knew sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra further takes the three virtues as the secret treasury, saying that the children are placed in the secret treasury and that the Buddha himself will soon enter it. This means that both self and others enter the secret. The present scripture says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle and uses it to liberate sentient beings; he will never use the Lesser Vehicle to save sentient beings, but will make them all attain extinction through the Tathāgata’s extinction. This likewise means that self and others both enter the Tathāgata’s extinction. Extinction is nirvāṇa, and nirvāṇa is the secret treasury. The “Commentary Treatise” says that the Lotus Sutra is the secret treasury; the wording and meaning of the two scriptures have always plainly agreed.

Why must people force the two to oppose one another? If wording and meaning truly conflicted, there would still be no fault in understanding them as the same. Here wording and meaning originally agree; what benefit could there be in forcibly separating them? The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra simply takes buddha-nature as its purport without failing to teach the meaning of the One Vehicle, while the present scripture takes the One Vehicle as its purport without failing to teach the meaning of buddha-nature. The teaching differs in response to capacities, while the meaning penetrated remains continuous.

If the three virtues are understood as vertically sequential or horizontally divided, they are coarse. When the three virtues are neither vertical nor horizontal, they are wondrous. The stages can also be explained accordingly.

Seventh Gate: Resolving Questions through the Four Siddhāntas

Someone asks: if the ten sets of three dharmas and all other sets of three dharmas are the three tracks, should one not speak only of the three tracks? Why establish various different names?

Answer: The capacities and needs of sentient beings differ. Teachings should therefore be established according to capacities so that they precisely meet them. These are simply the skillful means of the four siddhāntas used to draw in sentient beings. The teaching differs in accord with worldly usage; it differs in accord with what is suitable for each; it differs according to what each must counteract; and it differs in order to bring sentient beings into the Buddha-path.

Giving three in the morning and four at night pacifies the monkeys and makes them all happy. A mother smears something bitter on her breast, then after the medicine has taken effect washes it clean with water and calls the infant to nurse; in this way she cares for the infant in accord with the right time. Skillful means respond to capacities, taking square or round form entirely according to what receives them. It is like a thousand carts traveling in the same track. How could one rigidly cling to a single name and doubt all the others?

The four siddhāntas are now applied throughout the ten sets of three dharmas to judge wondrous and not-wondrous. A complete teaching of the three tracks together accomplishes the Great Vehicle. Within the Great Vehicle, the three dharmas and all Dharmas are fully present without being confused with one another; this is the worldly siddhānta. Supporting accomplishment supports the arising of wisdom and causes wholesome Dharmas to arise; this is the individually adapted siddhānta. Contemplative illumination breaks delusion and causes the various evils to be extinguished; this is the counteractive siddhānta. True nature is real principle; this is the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. One class of sentient beings is suited to hearing the name Great Vehicle and thereby obtains the four benefits.

A complete teaching of the three virtues together accomplishes great nirvāṇa. Although the three dots may be drawn one above another, they are not vertically ordered before and after; they may also be described as inner and outer, yet are not horizontally divided. One is not confused with the three, and the three do not leave the one substance; this is the worldly siddhānta. Wholesome benefit arises, calamity and the burden of wrongdoing cannot invade, and one therefore stands free beyond fetters; thus liberation is the individually adapted siddhānta. Prajñā is like a vajra, shattering whatever it strikes; this is the counteractive siddhānta. The Dharma-body is the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. One class of sentient beings hears the name three virtues and thereby obtains the four benefits. Here the first set, the three tracks, and the last, the three virtues, are presented; the intervening eight sets can be understood by analogy.

Next, wondrous and not-wondrous are distinguished. The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says that the first three siddhāntas are conventional truth and are where the mind can operate; they can be broken and destroyed. The siddhānta of ultimate meaning is where the mind cannot operate, the Dharma attained by the minds of buddhas and noble ones; it cannot be broken and destroyed and is true truth.

If so, the four siddhāntas are encompassed by the conventional and true Two Truths. Yet there is also the Middle Way—where would it be included? If the Middle is not included, this is only the meaning of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings, and such siddhāntas are coarse.

Here conventional truth is said to be existence and true truth nonexistence. When existence and nonexistence remain separate, they are precisely the first three siddhāntas where the mind can operate and which can be destroyed. The Middle Way as ultimate meaning is neither existence nor nonexistence. When existence and nonexistence are nondual, there is no separation; only where there is no difference is there true truth. The first three siddhāntas reach only the conjured city. The conjured city is not real and can therefore be destroyed; what can be destroyed is coarse. Here the Middle Way is without difference and reaches all the way to the treasure-place. Nothing can surpass it and nothing can extinguish it, so it cannot be destroyed and is called wondrous.

If other scriptures also teach the Middle Way as the siddhānta of ultimate meaning, they do not differ from the present scripture. They are not called wondrous only because they also carry what arhats attain as the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. The present scripture directly casts aside skillful means and contains only the perfect and real four siddhāntas; it is therefore wondrous.

If one cannot decisively understand that each of the first three siddhāntas enters the siddhānta of ultimate meaning, they remain coarse. If one decisively understands that each siddhānta itself possesses ultimate meaning, it is wondrous.

Disciples of the five grades possess the four siddhāntas in designation. Those at purification of the six sense faculties possess the four siddhāntas by resemblance. Those from the first abode through equal awakening possess the four siddhāntas through partial realization. At wondrous awakening are the ultimate four siddhāntas. They are therefore called wondrous.

The preceding five treatments have clarified the half concerning the wondrousness of self-practice within the ten subtleties, from cause through fruit. At this point, the work’s structure of the half wish-fulfilling jewel is complete.

The Fruit Is Complete, Yet Every Stimulus Necessarily Meets a Response

The sixth topic is the subtlety of stimulus and response. The four subtleties already explained—objects, wisdom, practice, and stages—are called the complete cause, while the secret treasury of the three dharmas is called the complete fruit. When the subtlety of objects is revealed ultimately, it is named Vairocana. When the subtlety of wisdom is complete ultimately, it is named Rocana. When the subtlety of practice is complete ultimately, it is named Śākyamuni. The three buddhas are neither one nor different. They are neither a vertical relation of before and after nor a horizontal relation of parallel things, and are therefore called the wondrous fruit.

The Explanatory Treatise says, “I bow to the Buddha of Wisdom’s Perfection who has no son.” At the fruit-stage, completeness has reached its utmost and is no longer the causal stage; hence the words “has no son.” Fruitional wisdom is quiescent and able to illuminate. Whenever sentient beings provide a stimulus, its response must become manifest. The subtlety of stimulus and response is therefore explained next.

The subtlety of stimulus and response has six divisions: first, explaining the names stimulus and response; second, clarifying the characteristics of stimulus and response; third, clarifying the various differences among stimuli and responses; fourth, clarifying how stimulus and response are correlated; fifth, judging coarse and wondrous; and sixth, clarifying contemplation of mind.

The first division, explaining the names, itself has three levels: first directly explaining the names, then explaining them in correlation with the four siddhāntas, and finally analyzing them through questions and answers.

The Three Meanings of Stimulus: Subtle Incipience, Junction, and Suitability

The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra says that the Buddha broadly teaches the scriptural Dharma in innumerable worlds and that such is the stimulus and response involved in what the World-Honored One does. “Stimulus and response” is therefore taken as the present name. What the scriptures call stimulus and condition are different names for the side of sentient beings that stimulates. For the time being the explanation proceeds from stimulus because its meaning is easier to see; condition and stimulating can be understood by analogy.

Stimulus has three meanings.

First, stimulus means subtle incipience (微). The Changes says that the trigger is the subtle beginning of movement, the first appearance of an auspicious event. An Āgama says that when sentient beings possess a stimulus of wholesome Dharma, the noble one comes to respond. Within a sentient being is good about to arise. At the extremely subtle point when it has only begun to move, it can be called stimulus. If only good about to arise were called stimulus, the scope would be narrow. The present account includes all good capable of arising and is therefore broader.

A crossbow, for example, possesses a trigger that can be released, and so an archer can pull it. When it is pulled, the arrow advances; when it is not pulled, the arrow does not advance. Sentient beings possess good capable of arising. When the noble one responds, that good arises; when the noble one does not respond, it does not arise. In this sense, stimulus means subtle incipience.

Second, the Old Commentary on the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says that stimulus means junction (關). Why? Sentient beings possess both good and evil, and both stand in relation to the kindness and compassion of the noble one. Stimulus is therefore junction.

Third, stimulus means suitability (宜). If sentient beings are to have the suffering of ignorance removed, compassion is precisely suitable. If they are to obtain the happiness of Dharma-nature, kindness is precisely suitable. Stimulus therefore has the meaning of suitability.

The Three Meanings of Response: Going Forth, Corresponding, and Responding

Response likewise has three meanings.

First, response means going forth (赴). Since the stimulus in sentient beings contains the principle of good capable of arising, when that stimulus is just beginning subtly to move, the noble one goes forth to it and enables the good to arise. Response is therefore explained as going forth.

Second, response means corresponding (對). It is like two people conducting a transaction and making a decision in relation to one another. If one wishes to sell and the other does not wish to buy, they cannot correspond. If buyer and seller are of one mind, the transaction can be completed, and neither regrets whether the price was high or low. Here the sentient being represents the buyer and the Tathāgata the seller. From the side of the sentient being’s stimulus there is junction; from the side of the noble one’s response there is correspondence. Response is therefore explained as corresponding.

Third, response means responding to what is suitable (應). Since stimulus means suitability, what Dharma is ultimately suitable? Sentient beings’ stimuli of good and evil are suitable for a response through the Dharma of kindness and compassion. Compassion is suitable for rescuing them from suffering, and kindness is suitable for giving them happiness. Whatever Dharma is suitable to sentient beings is used in response. Response is therefore explained as responding to what is suitable.

Correlating Stimulus and Response with the Four Siddhāntas

The three meanings of stimulus and the three meanings of response already contain the meanings of the four siddhāntas.

Explaining stimulus as subtle incipience and response as going forth means going forth to the minds of sentient beings in accordance with their wishes. Not only good capable of arising in the mind is called a wish. Although grasses and trees have no mind, they can be said to be able to grow, to wish to grow, and to be about to grow. The noble one’s going forth to this good capable of arising is therefore precisely an accordance with wishes. This explains stimulus and response through the worldly siddhānta.

Explaining stimulus as junction and response as corresponding means the two sides correspond: compassion corresponds to sentient beings’ stimulus of suffering, and kindness to their stimulus of good. This explains stimulus and response according to the counteractive siddhānta.

Explaining stimulus as suitability and response as responding includes the individually adapted siddhānta and the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. These Dharmas should go forth to sentient beings’ stimuli because Dharma and stimulus suit one another. What is suitable for producing phenomenal good belongs to the individually adapted siddhānta; what is suitable for producing the good of principle belongs to the siddhānta of ultimate meaning.

Three Rounds of Analysis

Someone asks: Why is the arising of the good of principle called the siddhānta of ultimate meaning?

The answer is that once the good of principle becomes clear, ignorance in principle necessarily ceases. It never waits for some supposed evil in principle to cease before the good of principle begins to arise. The good of principle can therefore be called the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. When phenomenal good arises, phenomenal evil has not necessarily been removed; when phenomenal evil is removed, phenomenal good does not necessarily arise at once. Phenomena remain distinct from one another. The counteractive siddhānta is precisely medicine corresponding to illness, and therefore the siddhānta of ultimate meaning is not opened separately on that level.

Another question is asked: sentient beings are stimulus and the noble person is response. Are they ultimately the same or different? If the same, they could not be divided into stimulus and response. If different, how could they stand in relation and be discussed as stimulus and response?

The answer is that stimulus and response are neither one nor different. In principle, sentient beings and the Buddha alike possess suchness and are therefore not different. Phenomenally, there are sentient beings’ stimulus and the noble one’s response, and so they are not one. It is like the natural relation between father and son. The child’s body of flesh and bone is received from the parents, and so complete difference cannot be established. Yet if they were completely the same, the father would be the son and the son the father, which likewise cannot be established. Precisely because they are neither one nor different can father and son be spoken of.

Sentient beings’ nature of principle does not differ from the Buddha’s and is therefore not different. The nature of principle in sentient beings is hidden and unmanifest, while that of the Tathāgata is manifest and clear, and so they are not one. Precisely because they are neither one nor different can stimulus and response be discussed. It can also be said that neither is a fixed phenomenon or a fixed principle, and in that sense they are not different. Yet phenomenally sentient beings possess stimulus while in principle the noble one possesses response; conversely, the noble one manifests phenomenally while ordinary beings possess that principle. From this side of distinction they can still be spoken of as different.

A further question is asked: Does the Dharma-body respond, or does the response-body respond? If the response-body responds, it lacks a permanently abiding basis; how could it respond? If the Dharma-body responds, once something that responds is asserted, it is no longer the Dharma-body.

The answer is that, pressed to the ultimate, Dharmas originally belong neither to past, present, nor future and are neither response nor nonresponse, yet response can occur. One can therefore speak of the response of the Dharma-body, called “Dharma-response,” and also of the response of the response-body, called “response-response.” Dharma-response brings hidden benefit, while response-response brings manifest benefit. When hidden and manifest are distinguished, they open into the four meanings explained below.

How Good and Evil Become Stimulus

The second division clarifies the characteristics of stimulus and response. It first explains the characteristic of stimulus through good and evil and then explains the characteristic of response through kindness and compassion.

As stimuli, are good and evil each taken alone, or do the two form stimulus together? Explanations have differed since ancient times.

One explanation takes only evil as stimulus. A scripture says that the Buddha removes sentient beings’ grave illness of sores and tumors. It is also like a person with seven children whose heart is fundamentally impartial but who is particularly concerned for the sick child. The Tathāgata is likewise not partial among sentient beings, yet gives particular weight to those suffering under wrongdoing. Another passage says that the Tathāgata does not abide in the world for unconditioned sentient beings. Although the morally indeterminate has no manifest characteristic of good or evil, it remains ignorance and ultimately belongs with evil. This is taking evil alone as stimulus.

Another explanation takes good alone as stimulus. The “Great Scripture” says that when the Buddha contemplates sentient beings, he does not distinguish the old, young, and middle-aged or the poor, rich, noble, and lowly. Whenever there is a wholesome mind, he immediately regards it with kindness. This is taking good alone as stimulus.

A further explanation holds that neither good nor evil can independently form stimulus. Why can good alone not do so? The final mind of the vajra-like stage is immediately buddhahood; all good has been gathered there, and none is higher. How could such good again serve as a stimulus awaiting production? Although one may say generally that buddhas are mindful of one another, there is no longer suffering to remove or happiness waiting to be given. Good alone therefore cannot be stimulus.

Why can evil alone not do so? The icchantika’s evil has reached the extreme and cannot stimulate the Buddha. The “Great Scripture” says that only a single hair cannot lift the body; nevertheless, the icchantika still possesses the good of principle as a virtue of nature. Although this good of principle is a universal stimulus, it is not yet sufficient to become present stimulation. Evil alone therefore cannot independently become stimulus.

The final explanation takes good and evil carried together as stimulus. Beginning when an icchantika produces a mind of reform and remorse and continuing through equal awakening, good and evil are carried together and can therefore form stimulus. The treatise explains the characteristic of stimulus through good and evil carried together in this way.

How Kindness and Compassion Become Response

The characteristic of response is next explained through kindness and compassion, also in three ways.

Some take kindness alone as response. The power of cultivating wholesome roots of kindness, for example, can make an elephant see lions and thereby be subdued, as explained in detail in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra.

Some take compassion alone as response, as in the Sūtra of Inviting Avalokiteśvara, or when a bodhisattva enters hell in play and, out of great compassion, undergoes suffering in place of sentient beings.

Others combine kindness and compassion as response. Compassion perfumes wisdom and can remove the suffering of others; kindness perfumes concentration and can give them happiness. A passage below says that the Buddha adorns himself with the powers of concentration and wisdom and uses these to deliver sentient beings. A treatise also says that only the combination of mercury and true gold can coat various colored images; when qualities combine with the Dharma-body, manifestation can go forth everywhere. Neither mercury nor true gold can coat an image by itself. Kindness and compassion must therefore be joined when response is discussed.

Good and Evil in the Three Times, and Kindness and Compassion in the Three Times

Someone asks: sentient beings’ good and evil occur in past, present, and future. Which time can be stimulus? The Dharmas of the noble one can likewise be discussed through three times. Which time can be response? The past is already extinguished, the present does not remain, and the future has not arrived. None seems able to be stimulus or response, so how can stimulus and response be discussed?

The answer is that when ultimate principle is investigated, none of the three times can be apprehended, and there is therefore neither stimulus nor response. A scripture says that awakening does not actually possess past, present, and future; the three times are spoken of only as a convention of worldly words and numbers. The present explanation likewise relies on the power of the four siddhāntas to speak of the three times in accordance with sentient beings.

Past good can be stimulus. Thus a scripture says that because of blessings and felicity from former lives, we now encounter the World-Honored One. Again, people in the five preparatory grades who cultivated skillful means in the past find it easier to activate true wisdom, while those who did not find it more difficult. Past good can therefore serve as stimulus.

Present good can likewise be stimulus. When this thought arises in the present, the Buddha appears in the sky. This is present stimulus.

Future good can also be stimulus because good not yet arisen requires something to make it arise. Although uncontaminated good has no already established habitual cause, it can stimulate the Buddha. The Great Treatise uses lotus blossoms as a simile. Those in water may already have grown, be beginning to grow, or not yet have grown. If they do not receive sunlight, they become blighted and die. If the good of sentient beings in the three times does not encounter the Buddha, it likewise has no path to completion.

Evil in the three times is the same. Transgressions committed in the past are all repented of in the present. Evils currently being committed are likewise repented of now. For transgressions that may be committed in the future, the mind of continuation is severed in advance so that they do not arise; all of this is called rescue. Past evil karma obstructs present wholesome Dharmas from arising, and the Buddha is therefore invoked to remove that evil obstruction. Present painful results press upon sentient beings and make them seek protection. Future evil is about to meet its occasion, and the noble one prevents it before it arises. Evil in all three times can therefore be stimulus.

Response in the three times is the same. Past kindness and compassion can be response, as when the Buddha says that he originally established a vow to enable sentient beings to obtain this Dharma. Present kindness and compassion can be response, as when all gods, humans, and asuras are told to come and hear the Dharma so that those not yet delivered can be delivered. Future kindness and compassion can also be response, as when the “Lifespan” chapter speaks of benefiting sentient beings in future lives and the “Peaceful Practices” chapter says that when the Buddha attains complete awakening he will guide sentient beings and enable them to abide in this Dharma.

In the general account, good and evil in all three times can serve as stimulus. In the specific account, only future good and evil are taken as the proper stimulus. The past has already disappeared and the present has already taken shape; what the noble one does is directed to removing future evil and making future good arise.

The Four Right Efforts, Illumination of the Future, and the Fourfold Agent-Object Relation

Someone asks: If the future alone is the proper stimulus, why do the four right efforts speak of good and evil already arisen and not yet arisen?

The preceding answer was given from the general meaning. In a more specific answer, one diligently severs past evil because it can obscure future good. Past good itself no longer increases; what is called increase is in fact the increase of future good. Although the language of the four right efforts includes the past, its real intent still lies in the future.

Another question is asked: How can the Buddha illuminate what does not yet exist in the future?

The answer is that the Tathāgata’s wisdom is like a bright mirror and knows things as they really are. Lower stages cannot know this. It can only be accepted in trust and must not be forcibly measured by the discriminating mind of a lower stage.

Another question is asked: Are sentient beings themselves that which can stimulate, or is stimulation brought about by the Buddha? Is the Tathāgata himself that which can respond, or is response brought about by sentient beings?

The answer is that none can be established as one of four fixed intrinsic natures—arising from self, other, both, or no cause. Since all four theories of intrinsic nature are absent, stimulus and response possess no fixed intrinsic nature. Precisely because they lack intrinsic nature, worldly provisional names are used within the four siddhāntas to speak of agent and object in stimulus and response.

According to these provisional names, that which can respond belongs to the Buddha, and that to which response is made belongs to sentient beings; that which can stimulate belongs to sentient beings, and that which is stimulated belongs to the Buddha. If these terms are repeatedly inverted to manufacture further layers of agent and object, worldly language becomes confused and distinctions can no longer be made. Even when the names are established in this way, they do not abide. Names themselves possess no substance; everything is like a dream or illusion.

A further question is asked: If both good and evil can serve as stimulus, who lacks good and evil? Should everyone benefit at the same time?

The answer is that sick people in the world can all summon a physician, yet after treatment some recover and some do not. Stimulus is the same: some stimuli have matured and others have not. Response is therefore near or distant and does not manifest uniformly at the same time.

Four Combinations of Hidden and Manifest Stimulus and Response

The third division explains differences among stimuli and responses at three levels: first through four combinations, then through thirty-six statements, and finally through the ten Dharma realms. Sentient beings’ faculties and dispositions differ in hundreds and thousands of ways, while the buddhas’ skillful responses are immeasurable; each is delivered differently according to kind. A scripture speaks of different names and forms and many kinds, like superior, middling, and inferior roots, stems, and leaves, each growing according to its own nature. This precisely describes differences among stimuli and responses.

The four combinations are stated briefly: first, hidden stimulus and hidden response; second, hidden stimulus and manifest response; third, manifest stimulus and manifest response; and fourth, manifest stimulus and hidden response.

First, one cultivated good through bodily, verbal, and mental action in the past but does not now employ body and speech in an active practice. Because the power of past good remains latent and continuous, this is called hidden stimulus. Although no numinous response is now visible, the Dharma-body secretly gives benefit. Awareness that occurs without seeing or hearing is called hidden benefit.

Second, good was planted in the past and the hidden stimulus has now matured. In the present life one can therefore encounter the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and receive benefit before one’s eyes. This is called manifest benefit. When the Buddha first appeared in the world, did those delivered first only then begin to practice? The buddhas illuminated their past stimuli and personally went to deliver them. This is hidden stimulus and manifest response.

Third, sentient beings now cultivate diligently through body and speech and, without laxity, move the noble one to arrive. Sudatta knelt and invited the Buddha, and the Buddha went to Jetavana. Moon Canopy bowed, and the noble one came to the city gate. Practitioners now prostrate and repent in a place of practice and bring forth numinous signs. All are manifest stimulus and manifest response.

Fourth, a person may labor diligently throughout a lifetime and deeply amass present wholesome practices without seeing a manifest response, yet benefit has already been obtained secretly. This is manifest stimulus and hidden response.

Understanding these four meanings, one knows that no merit from lowering the head or raising a hand is ever discarded. Even if no response is seen all day, one remains free of regret all day. Seeing someone fond of killing live long or someone who delights in giving remain poor does not cause wrong views. Without understanding the four meanings, one thinks one’s labor has been wasted and one’s calculation mistaken, and loses right principle through anxious regret. The Explanatory Treatise says that present illness and pain all arise from the past, while blessings cultivated now bring recompense in the future, and right mindfulness must not be distorted. This is precisely the benefit of penetrating the four combinations.

Thirty-Six Statements and 64,800 Stimuli and Responses

The preceding account discussed only hidden and manifest together and briefly gave four combinations. In the full distinction there are four root stimuli: hidden stimulus, manifest stimulus, both hidden and manifest stimulus, and neither hidden nor manifest stimulus. Hidden belongs to the past, manifest to the present, both hidden and manifest joins past and present, and neither hidden nor manifest belongs to the future, as when the Buddha teaches an icchantika.

Each of the four stimulus statements opens into four responses. Hidden stimulus, for example, can be joined with hidden response, manifest response, both hidden and manifest response, or neither hidden nor manifest response. Manifest stimulus, both hidden and manifest stimulus, and neither hidden nor manifest stimulus likewise each open into four responses. Four multiplied by four makes sixteen statements.

As stimulus can call forth response, response can also go forth to stimulus, and the response side therefore has another sixteen statements. One kind of stimulus can call forth four kinds of response, and one kind of response can go forth to four kinds of stimulus. Sixteen stimulus statements and sixteen response statements make thirty-two; adding the preceding four root statements makes thirty-six statements of stimulus and response.

Extended through the ten Dharma realms, one person’s single bodily-action stimulus already has thirty-six statements. Applied to bodily, verbal, and mental action, these make 108. Multiplied again through the three times—past, present, and future—and the three actions, they make 324. What holds for one realm extends through the ten realms and makes 3,240 different stimuli and responses.

This accounts only for one’s own practice. Teaching others likewise has 3,240, and together they make 6,480 when the ten realms are calculated separately one by one. If the ten realms are then calculated through mutual inclusion, nine times more are added, for a total of 64,800 stimuli and responses.

Correlating the Twenty-Five Existences and Twenty-Five Samādhis

The fourth division explains the correlation of stimulus and response on four levels: first, suffering and happiness within the various existences are correlated with the kindness and compassion of samādhi; second, subtle incipience, junction, and suitability in stimulus are correlated with going forth, corresponding, and responding in response; third, the thirty-six statements are correlated; and fourth, separate and perfect-universal accounts are correlated.

However numerous the stimuli of sentient beings may be, they do not go beyond the twenty-five existences. However numerous the responses of noble ones may be, they do not go beyond the twenty-five samādhis. Only the hell existence is explained in detail here; the others can be understood by analogy.

Within the hell existence are both good and evil stimuli, standing in relation to the response of kindness and compassion in the Stainless Samādhi. On the side of evil there are the evil of black karma, evil views, the evil of thought, the evil of dust-and-sand, and the evil of ignorance. On the side of good there are the good of white karma, the good of immediate emptiness, the good of immediate provisionality, and the good of the immediate middle. Together these are called the stimuli of the hell existence.

When the Stainless Samādhi is cultivated and the hell realm contemplated, there can be the kindness and compassion of contemplation through causes and conditions, the kindness and compassion of the contemplation of immediate emptiness, those of the contemplation of immediate provisionality, and those of the contemplation of the immediate middle.

In contemplation through causes and conditions, compassion removes the suffering of black karma in hell and kindness gives the happiness of white karma. In contemplating immediate emptiness, compassion removes the suffering of views and thought and kindness gives uncontaminated happiness. In contemplating immediate provisionality, compassion removes the suffering of dust-and-sand and kindness gives the happiness of path-variety wisdom. In contemplating the immediate middle, compassion removes the suffering of ignorance and kindness gives the happiness of Dharma-nature. The good and evil stimuli of the hell existence thereby stand in relation to the response of kindness and compassion in the Stainless Samādhi; removing suffering and giving happiness correspond to one another.

The second level correlates the six meanings. The evil of black karma in hell possesses the three meanings of stimulus: subtle incipience, junction, and suitability. When it stands in relation to the Stainless Samādhi, kindness and compassion possess the three meanings of response: going forth, corresponding, and responding. The white karma of hell likewise has these six correlated meanings. Immediate emptiness with views and thought, dust-and-sand with path-variety wisdom, and ignorance with the Middle Way each likewise possesses the six correlated meanings.

The third level correlates the thirty-six statements. Black and white karma in hell each have hidden stimulus with hidden response, hidden stimulus with manifest response, manifest stimulus with manifest response, and manifest stimulus with hidden response. They stand in relation to the four hidden and manifest responses of the kindness and compassion of the Stainless Samādhi going forth to hell. Views and thought with immediate emptiness, dust-and-sand with path-variety wisdom, and ignorance with the Middle Way likewise each possess four stimuli correlated with four responses. In general, the thirty-six hidden and manifest stimuli of the hell existence are correlated with thirty-six responses of the Stainless Samādhi.

The fourth level correlates separate with perfect-universal accounts. If the hell existence has a stimulus distinguished realm by realm, samādhi likewise makes a response distinguished realm by realm. If there is a perfect and universal stimulus, the response of samādhi is likewise perfect and universal.

When a separate stimulus arises, samādhi makes a differentiated response. The karma of one existence may be extinguished while that of the others is not necessarily extinguished. Views and thought in the three evil destinies may be exhausted while those in the other existences are not necessarily exhausted. Path-variety wisdom in hell may become clear while it is not necessarily clear in the other existences. Buddha-nature in hell may become perfectly clear while it is not necessarily perfectly clear in the other existences.

In the perfect stimulus and perfect response, if sovereign freedom over the karma of the hell existence is not ultimate, neither is sovereign freedom over the other existences. If views and thought in one existence are not exhausted, neither are they exhausted in the other existences. If path-variety wisdom in one existence is not clear, it is not clear in the others. If buddha-nature in one existence is not perfectly clear, it is not perfectly clear in the others. If it is perfectly clear in one existence, it is perfectly clear in all the others; and if sovereign freedom over the karma of one existence is attained, sovereign freedom over the karma of all the others is likewise attained. The correlation of stimulus and response in the hell existence is as described above; the remaining twenty-four existences follow by analogy.

Response to the Stimulus Has No Fixed Direction

Someone asks: Can there be a good stimulus that receives a response with an evil appearance, an evil stimulus that receives a response with a good appearance, a partial stimulus that receives a perfect response, or a perfect stimulus that receives a partial response?

The answer is that noble response has no fixed direction and seeks only to fit the stimulus at the time; these cases therefore occur. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says that a bodhisattva may manifest wind and fire to illuminate and break sentient beings’ perception of permanence and make them know impermanence. This is an evil-seeming response to a good stimulus. King Wondrous Adornment accepted wrong beliefs, while three bodhisattvas manifested as his wife and children. This is a good-seeming response to an evil stimulus.

A perfect stimulus can receive a partial response. Sentient beings’ aspiration to seek all-wisdom still remains and has never been lost. Its not being lost is the perfect stimulus, yet the Buddha first teaches them a śrāvaka Dharma, which is a partial response. A partial stimulus can receive a perfect response, as when beings are first guided by the three carts and later given the one great cart. Their understanding is expressed by saying that the unsurpassed cluster of jewels came without being sought. This is a partial stimulus receiving a perfect response. Apparent reversals that remove happiness or give suffering can be understood in the same way.

Coarse and Wondrous Stimuli and Responses

The fifth division judges coarse and wondrous in three levels: first judging coarse and wondrous stimulus, then judging coarse and wondrous response, and finally opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous.

First, stimulus. A temporary pleasant interval in hell, for example, comes from a small wholesome cause. The Lokasthānābhidharma Treatise says that people who raised the six kinds of domestic animal in the human world and gave them food, warmth, and coolness obtain a cool interval in a hot hell and a warm interval in a cold hell. In this sense, even a pleasant interval in hell can be discussed as stimuli of the ten Dharma realms.

Avīci hell has no pleasant interval and seems to lack phenomenal good. How, then, can it possess the stimuli of the ten realms? The natural good of Avīci beings is never severed. Even if no phenomenal good exists in the recent past, good may have been cultivated in distant eons. Evil is merely strong and good weak, so wholesome roots remain hidden and have not been activated. If conditions are encountered, how could activation be categorically impossible? Avīci therefore also possesses the stimuli of the ten realms.

Coarse and wondrous are judged accordingly. The stimuli of the nine realms are coarse, while the stimulus of the buddha realm is wondrous. A coarse stimulus calls forth a skillful response. The stimulus can be mature or immature, and the response shallow or deep. A mature stimulus meets response, while an immature stimulus does not do so for the time being. The depth of response can be seen in progressing from uninterrupted hell to a hell with intervals, from hell to animal birth, from animal birth to hungry-ghost birth, from the three evil destinies to human or heavenly birth, and from humans and gods to the two vehicles. All of these are the maturation and immaturity of stimulus and the shallowness and depth of response, and all remain within coarse stimulus.

A wondrous stimulus calls forth an ultimately wondrous response. Wondrous stimulus likewise can be mature or immature, and wondrous response shallow or deep. The Maiden of Kindness, for example, gave rise in hell to an aspiration to undergo another’s punishment and was immediately born in heaven. This is a wondrous stimulus already matured with a response that remains shallow, reaching only near the heavens. The other cases can be understood by analogy.

Next, the coarse and wondrous in response. The compassionate vows of the noble one support practice through the power of vow, like glue on an object that spontaneously adheres to the stimulus. The power of wholesome roots of kindness can therefore make lions appear from the fingers. Without vows, one could observe sentient beings’ suffering and happiness but could neither remove suffering nor give happiness. Because the power of kindness is present, response follows coarse or wondrous stimuli: what matures first receives response first, and what matures later receives it later.

Noble ones of the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings can also respond, but they must intentionally employ supernormal power. They are like a painted image that is completed only through planning and arrangement. Investigated deeply, they lack a permanently abiding basis. Once body and wisdom are reduced to ashes, on what permanently abiding basis could response arise? In “the Distinct receiving the Shared,” the meaning of the Distinct Teaching receives a person within the Shared Teaching, but distinct delusion is not yet severed, and spontaneous response to beings is impossible. Even if benefit goes forth to sentient beings, it is still called coarse response.

Beginners in the Distinct and Perfect Teachings who have only suppressed delusion still cannot give rise to such response. At the first ground or first abode, the three contemplations become present, the twenty-five samādhis are realized, and the Dharma-body is pure and unstained like empty space; only then does it serenely respond to all. Without thought or conception, it corresponds immediately to the stimulus. The moon, for example, never descends and the hundred waters never rise, yet the moon’s reflection appears universally and at once according to the length of rivers and the shape of vessels, without earlier or later. A bright mirror is clear inside and out; it selects neither one image nor a thousand, expends no effort, and spontaneously manifests a corresponding likeness. This is inconceivable wondrous response, the relational wondrousness of stimulus and response.

Opening the Coarse to Reveal the Wondrous

If one says only that stimuli of the nine realms are coarse and the stimulus of the buddha realm wondrous, or that response without the Dharma-body is coarse and response with the Dharma-body wondrous, then in Mahāyāna scriptures such as the Avataṃsaka coarse and wondrous remain separated. People of the two vehicles neither hear nor understand and are as deaf and mute. The Sūtra of Innumerable Meanings likewise says that coarse and wondrous emerge from one principle as immeasurable stimuli and responses: the one principle is wondrous and the immeasurable things produced are coarse. This is the wondrous producing the coarse, with the two still separated and unjoined.

The present scripture returns the immeasurable to the one and opens skillful means to reveal the real; the coarse is wondrous immediately. Why? The Buddha originally devised various skillful means in order to reveal one principle, and skillful means themselves are real. Everything the Buddha does is therefore for the sake of one matter; his buddha-work has never ceased even briefly.

Three grasses and two trees, for example, all grow from the same great earth: their source is the same and their stimulus one. They are all nourished by rain of one flavor: what they receive is the same and their response one. Fools do not understand and believe that grasses and trees are made from four subtle elements and can therefore never be earth. The wise understand that the arising of the four subtle elements is only earth transforming and their dispersal only a return to earth. How could grasses and trees ever be separate from earth? This is opening skillful means to reveal the real, bringing the Dharma of śrāvakas to resolution, and becoming king among scriptures. All stimuli of the nine Dharma realms are stimuli of the buddha realm, and every response of the four noble realms is a wondrous response.

The root treatise only lists the sixth division, contemplation of mind, and omits its body text.

Why the Subtlety of Supernormal Power Follows Stimulus and Response

The seventh topic is the subtlety of supernormal power, which has four divisions: first clarifying its sequence; second clarifying its name and number; third clarifying sameness and difference among kinds of supernormal power; and fourth judging coarse and wondrous.

First, the reason it follows. The preceding passage only distinguished how sentient beings possess good capable of arising and how the noble one can go forth to the stimulus. To explain directly how transformative activity benefits others, the three inconceivable forms of teaching—the wheel of body, wheel of speech, and wheel of knowing others’ minds—must be discussed.

The wording on the surface of the “Universal Gateway” chapter presents only two, but its meaning includes all three. The bodhisattva’s roaming in the Sahā world is the wheel of body; teaching Dharma to sentient beings is the wheel of speech. Seeing a large lotus blossom allows one to know that the pool is deep; seeing the breadth of the Dharma taught likewise allows one to know that the speaker’s wisdom is great. The two wheels of body and speech therefore also reveal the wheel of knowing others’ minds.

In transforming others, the wheels of body and speech are manifested frequently, while the wheel of mind is rarely displayed directly. The text mentions two wheels only because it speaks from what is most frequent and does not list the wheel of mind separately. A scripture says that all who see and hear are delivered.

To manifest the wheel of body is to display the body of the King of Medicine Trees and the body of the king of wish-fulfilling jewels. To manifest the wheel of speech is to proclaim Dharmas like the poison drum and heavenly drum. When kindness and compassion perfume body and speech, there are two bodily manifestations and two proclaimed drum-sounds. To manifest the wheel of mind is to reveal following one’s own intent and following others’ intent, as well as manifesting in accord with sentient beings through the practice of illness and the practice of an infant.

The preceding passage only distinguished how stimulus and response stand in relation, while wondrous principle remained difficult to reveal. Supernormal power must therefore be activated, auspicious signs manifested, and wondrous principle indicated secretly. When people see a spider lowering itself, they say that happy news will come; when they hear the bird written 𮬧 in 𮬧鵲 cry, they know a traveler will arrive. If even small matters possess signs, how could a great matter possess none? Near events can thus represent distant principle.

The Names and Number of the Six Powers and Their Real Transformative Activity

Scriptures differ in the names and numbers of supernormal powers they list. For the time being the present account uses six: the divine eye, divine ear, knowing others’ minds, knowing past lives, magical-body power, and extinction of the contaminants. All six are called supernormal powers.

The Necklace Sūtra says that “supernormal” names the heavenly mind and “power” names wisdom-nature. The heavenly mind is the natural mind, and wisdom-nature penetrates without obstruction. The Abhidharma likewise says that when the ignorance obstructing supernormal power is removed, wisdom-nature emerges. When natural wisdom-nature corresponds with the six Dharmas, one can transform freely; hence the name supernormal power. The “Chapter on Powers” in the Bodhisattvabhūmi says that “supernormal” is difficult to fathom and “power” is free of obstruction. This agrees with the Necklace Sūtra: the heavenly mind is difficult to fathom, and wisdom-nature is unobstructed.

The six Dharmas have no fixed order when cultivated, no fixed sequence when realized, and no fixed order when used. Their sequence therefore differs among scriptures.

The Explanatory Treatise says that illusion is a false and deceptive Dharma. Applied to grass or wood, it deceives people’s eyes while the object itself does not change. Supernormal power is different: it can actually change things. Earth, for example, possesses the principle of becoming water, and water the meaning of becoming earth. Gold and silver melt when they meet fire, while water freezes when it meets cold; fire and cold are the conditions that cause melting and freezing. What freezes actually freezes and what melts actually melts. When natural wisdom-nature is attained, such transformations can likewise be made freely and in fact. Other people can really use the water or fire transformed in this way. It is not their recompense, but only something produced for a time by supernormal power.

Differences among Kinds of Supernormal Power

Beings in the ghost destiny obtain powers through recompense. Humans can obtain them by taking medicines. Non-Buddhists activate them through fundamental dhyāna. Gods obtain them through recompense. Practitioners of the two vehicles cultivate fourteen transformations through the liberations, spheres of mastery, and totalities and thereby activate supernormal powers. Bodhisattvas of the six pāramitās attain the five powers through dhyāna and the six powers when seated at the place of awakening. Bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching attain the five powers through dhyāna and the power of extinction of the contaminants through wisdom that embodies the Dharma. Bodhisattvas of the Distinct Teaching activate the five powers through dhyāna before the grounds and, upon entering a ground, activate the true power of extinction of the contaminants; they illuminate constantly and spontaneously and do not see buddha-lands through two opposing characteristics.

In the Perfect Teaching’s account of powers, the nose and tongue faculties are included among the six according to the present scripture and the Sūtra on Contemplating Samantabhadra. The Bodhisattva in the Womb Sūtra does the same. Knowing others’ minds and knowing past lives are included in the mind faculty. The scriptural text explains the power of the nose most fully, taking it from the six faculties’ mutual functioning without obstruction. The tongue faculty is taken from the four unobstructed eloquences, which enable one wondrous voice to fill the three-thousandfold world; it is not taken from knowing flavors, since knowing flavors is a Dharma of recompense. The scripture says that the faculties penetrate keenly and wisdom is clear. All six faculties are wisdom, directly revealing their mutual functioning.

These powers of the six faculties do not arise through phenomenal dhyāna but are the truth of the Middle Way. True principle inherently possesses supernormal power; it is accomplished spontaneously and does not require intention. It is therefore called the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation. Because no separate intention is formed, it is called morally indeterminate. It remains spontaneously and constantly luminous, like the asura’s lute sounding without anyone playing it. Because what has been transformed can itself produce another transformation, it is called transformation upon transformation. The true powers of the Middle Way function spontaneously in this way and differ from other supernormal powers.

Cultivation of these powers always takes the permanently abiding principle of the true mark as its object. The scripture says that one attains purification of the permanent eye faculty. Because it says permanent, this is purification inherent in nature, and permanent nature is fundamentally undefiled. The Vibhāṣā says that the six entrances are excellent by nature from the beginning. The Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra says that the eye faculty in all tathāgatas is permanent, cultivated completely and without diminution, and sees distinctly and clearly. The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are likewise permanent in the Tathāgata, cultivated completely and without diminution, and hear and know distinctly and clearly.

“That” refers to oneself from the Buddha’s perspective and is called “that” only from the perspective of sentient beings. Sentient beings regard the six faculties as impermanent, but in the Tathāgata they are permanent. Cultivation based on dhyāna is called cultivation with diminution; cultivation based on the true mark is called cultivation without diminution. Not seeing buddha-nature is called being unable to see distinctly; seeing buddha-nature is called seeing distinctly. It can also be said that seeing the principle of the true mark is distinct, while knowing the phenomena of the Dharma realm is clear.

There are two kinds of seeing: resemblance-vision and partial-true vision. Resemblance-vision is distinguished in the purification of the six faculties. True vision is like the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind of the Buddha explained in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.

The present scripture likewise explains the characteristics of true bodily power. Universally manifesting physical bodies and displaying whatever body all sentient beings delight to see is outward bodily power. Manifesting a body like beryl in which all buddhas of the ten directions appear is inwardly manifest bodily power. Inward and outward manifestations of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and other faculties follow by analogy. Perfect-Teaching supernormal power thus differs from all those described before it.

Why the Merits of the Six Faculties Increase and Decrease

Someone asks: If the six faculties are taken as the six powers, why do the numbers of their merits still increase and decrease?

The answer is that fascicle forty of the Great Treatise calls the three consciousnesses of nose, tongue, and body “awareness,” the eye “seeing,” the ear “hearing,” and mind “knowing.” The ranges known by nose-, tongue-, and body-consciousness form one class together, while those known by eye-, ear-, and mind-consciousness are separately distinguished.

The three consciousnesses of eye, ear, and mind assist the path in many ways and are therefore discussed separately; the three of nose, tongue, and body are not the same and are therefore discussed together. Again, the three of nose, tongue, and body know only worldly matters and are therefore combined, while eye, ear, and mind know both worldly and world-transcending matters and are therefore separated. Again, the three of nose, tongue, and body take only morally indeterminate Dharmas as objects, while eye, ear, and mind can take good, evil, and morally indeterminate Dharmas as objects. Again, the three consciousnesses of eye, ear, and mind can produce the conditions for the three actions and are therefore discussed separately.

According to this analogy, the various activities of the eye, ear, and mind faculties are stronger, and each therefore has 1,200 merits. The activities of the nose, tongue, and body faculties are weaker, and each therefore has 800. This is only one route of differentiated explanation and is not the scripture’s complete intent. The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra instead says that their merits are equal, each having one thousand.

The present scripture reveals the mutual functioning of the six faculties. It completes the three faculties by adding two hundred to each and turns them toward the other three so that they function mutually. They are equally capable and unobstructed, as the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra says. They can also contract, as with the 800 merits of body, eye, and nose, and expand, as with the 1,200 merits of ear, tongue, and mind. The scripture says that if one can uphold this scripture, one’s merits are immeasurable like boundless space and one’s blessings cannot be limited. The meaning of the six faculties’ mutual functioning is thereby made clear.

Supernormal Power Transforms Principal Recompense

The fourth division judges coarse and wondrous supernormal power. When supernormal power delivers sentient beings, it transforms not only one’s own body into the same principal recompense as sentient beings but also one’s own land into the same dependent recompense as theirs. The Necklace Sūtra speaks of bringing forth responses of all lands and responses of all sentient beings. Responding in accord with principal recompense means manifesting the forms of the ten Dharma realms. Responding in accord with dependent recompense means manifesting the places upon which sentient beings of the ten realms depend.

To respond in accord with the four evil destinies, the Buddha uses kindness and compassion contemplating evil karma to perfume the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation and manifests the physical forms of hell beings and others: black hair wrapping the body, or the images of monkeys, apes, deer, horses, great vultures, the 鵽 bird, asuras, and so forth. Sentient beings of each kind see a body whose activity is the same as their own.

To respond with a human or heavenly body, the Buddha uses kindness and compassion contemplating good karma to perfume the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation and manifests bodies of the good destinies. A bodhisattva in the final body, for example, enters the womb with right wisdom; after birth he takes seven steps, washes his hands and feet, cleans himself with a toothstick, takes a wife and fathers a child, becomes disenchanted with the world, and renounces home. The same applies to forms of gods and humans. Sentient beings of each kind see a body whose activity is the same as their own.

To respond in accord with the two vehicles of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, the Buddha uses kindness and compassion analyzing emptiness to perfume the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation. He manifests the form of an old bhikṣu, performs the poṣadha together with the Saṅgha, and observes the disciplines and rules, allowing sentient beings to see a body whose activity is the same as their own.

To respond in accord with the Shared Teaching, he uses the kindness and compassion of immediate emptiness to perfume the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation. He manifests a response embodying the Dharma, contemplates the habituation of non-arising, and contemplates suffering, emptiness, and all Dharmas as unobtainable, allowing corresponding sentient beings to see a body whose activity is the same as their own.

To respond in accord with the Distinct Teaching, he uses the kindness and compassion of immediate provisionality and the immediate middle to perfume the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation. He brings forth gradual and sudden responses and displays cultivation of buddha-Dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, allowing sentient beings of each kind to see a body whose activity is the same as their own.

To respond in accord with the Perfect Teaching, he uses the kindness and compassion of the immediate middle to perfume the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation. He brings forth a perfect and sudden response and displays cultivation of the immeasurable within the one middle and the one within the immeasurable, allowing sentient beings of each kind to see a body whose activity is the same as their own. Responses in accord with principal recompense are thus beyond calculation and can only be comprehended in meaning, not exhausted in words.

Supernormal Powers in the Five Flavors and Auspicious Signs in the “Introduction” chapter

Having understood the meaning of supernormal power in principal recompense, one can look back at the gradual and sudden teachings. However many supernormal powers are used in the milk teaching, they reveal only one coarse and one wondrous. However many are used in the Tripiṭaka Teaching of the curds, they reveal only one coarse. However many are used in the Vaipulya teaching of raw ghee, they reveal three coarse and one wondrous. However many are used in the Prajñā teaching of refined ghee, they reveal two coarse and one wondrous. However many are used in the present scripture of clarified essence, they reveal only one wondrous.

The ten auspicious signs in the “Introduction” chapter therefore all represent the wondrous. The earth becoming entirely pure represents the subtlety of principle. Light emitted from between the eyebrows represents the subtlety of wisdom. Entering samādhi represents the subtlety of practice. The heavenly rain of four flowers represents the subtlety of stages. The fragrant sandalwood wind represents the subtlety of the vehicle. The doubts of all four assemblies represent stimulus; seeing eighteen thousand lands represents response; together these two represent the subtlety of stimulus and response. The earth’s six kinds of movement represent the subtlety of supernormal power. The heavenly drum sounding by itself and teaching Dharma to sentient beings represent the subtlety of teaching the Dharma. The joy of the great assembly of gods and dragons represents the subtlety of retinues. Seeing buddha-children cultivating various practices represents the subtlety of benefit.

Whether these marvelous transformations are few or many, they all represent the wondrous. The text says that today the Buddha enters samādhi, something inconceivable, and manifests a rare event. This rare event is wondrous supernormal power.

Supernormal Power Transforms Dependent Recompense: What Sentient Beings Bring About

Responding in accord with dependent recompense has two levels. First, suffering and happiness in a land are brought about by the karma of sentient beings and are not made by the Buddha; the Buddha merely manifests a corresponding land. Second, in order to discipline or embrace sentient beings, the Buddha illuminates the stimulus and manifests either a painful or a happy land. In this case suffering and happiness arise through the Buddha’s supernormal power and are not brought about by sentient beings’ karma.

First, the first level. The Great Treatise says that some lands have only a community of śrāvakas, some only a community of bodhisattvas, and some a community formed jointly by bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. Whether the land is pure or impure and all its differences arise from whether vehicle and precepts are lax or urgent.

In the first case, precepts are lax while vehicle is both urgent and lax. This is an impure land with śrāvakas and bodhisattvas together as the community. Because precepts are lax, the land has the five turbidities and is impure. Because vehicle is lax, three vehicles are opened and taught; because vehicle is also urgent, one vehicle is revealed. The Sahā world is of this kind.

In the second case, precepts are urgent while vehicle is both lax and urgent. This is a pure land. Because precepts are urgent, the land lacks the five turbidities. Because vehicle is lax, three vehicles are opened and taught; because vehicle is also urgent, one vehicle is revealed. The Land of Peaceful Nurture is of this kind.

In the third case, vehicle is lax while precepts are urgent. This is a pure land with only śrāvakas as the community.

In the fourth case, precepts are lax while vehicle is urgent. This is an impure land with only bodhisattvas as the community.

From this level, therefore, differences in purity and impurity among lands and in the higher and lower conditions, suffering, and happiness of the sentient beings within them are all brought about by sentient beings’ vehicle and precepts and do not involve fabrication by the Buddha.

Supernormal Power Transforms Dependent Recompense: The Buddha Disciplines and Embraces

From the perspective of disciplining and embracing, the land arises through the Buddha’s supernormal power and does not involve the karmic stimulus of sentient beings.

The Buddha unites kindness and compassion contemplating evil with the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation and brings forth an impure land to discipline and embrace sentient beings of the four evil destinies. The Buddha unites kindness and compassion contemplating good karma with that dhyāna to discipline and embrace sentient beings of the human and heavenly destinies.

The Buddha unites the kindness and compassion of analyzing emptiness and the six pāramitās with the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation and brings forth either an impure or a pure land to discipline and embrace sentient beings of the śrāvaka and bodhisattva realms. He unites the kindness and compassion of embodying emptiness with that dhyāna and brings forth either a pure or an impure land to discipline and embrace sentient beings in the śrāvaka and bodhisattva realms of the Shared Teaching.

The Buddha unites the kindness and compassion of separate progression with the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation and brings forth either an impure or a pure land to discipline and embrace sentient beings of the Distinct-Teaching bodhisattva realm. He unites the kindness and compassion of the immediate middle with that dhyāna and brings forth either a pure or an impure land to discipline and embrace sentient beings of the Perfect-Teaching bodhisattva realm.

All these different lands arise entirely through transformation by the Tathāgata’s supernormal power.

Relational and Absolute Wondrousness in Supernormal Power

When the foregoing transformations of principal and dependent recompense are compared with the intentional supernormal powers of the three teachings, those intentional powers are all called coarse. They are like a painted image: even when mind and strength are exhausted, it ultimately cannot resemble the actual thing and is therefore coarse. When a bright mirror reflects a face and spontaneously manifests a corresponding likeness, it is called wondrous. Skillful supernormal power is like a coarse painting; the Middle Way spontaneously corresponds to the stimulus and immediately brings forth response, like a pure bright mirror, and is therefore wondrous.

Even within the marvelous transformations produced by the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation, coarse and wondrous can be discussed again. Whether broad or narrow, pure or impure lands manifested through skillful supernormal power for sentient beings of the nine realms are called coarse. Whether broad or narrow, pure or impure lands manifested through true supernormal power for sentient beings of the buddha Dharma realm are called wondrous.

In the scripture the Buddha emits light from between his eyebrows and illuminates eighteen thousand lands, and then transforms the lands into purity three times. Compared with the vast supernormal powers in other scriptures, this is not great in quantity, yet it is called wondrous because it opens forth the one great matter. The quantity of marvelous transformation is therefore not the sole criterion of wondrousness.

Judged again through the five flavors: milk has one coarse and one wondrous, curds has only one coarse, raw ghee has three coarse and one wondrous, refined ghee has two coarse and one wondrous, and the Lotus as clarified essence has only one wondrous.

The wondrous in the various scriptures is the same, while the coarse is of two kinds: coarse that is difficult to turn and coarse that is easy to turn. What is easy to turn has already been turned into the wondrous in the earlier scriptures; what is difficult to turn is likewise no longer left behind when the Lotus is reached. At this point there are no longer two kinds of coarse, and only the one wondrous remains.

Everything is only the one great buddha affair and condition; there has never been another affair. Although the Buddha skillfully manifests powers like those of the nine realms, sentient beings themselves regard them as other affairs. From the Buddha’s perspective, they have always been only buddha affairs. The poor son calls himself a “hired laborer” and regards himself as lowly; the elder knows clearly that he is his own son. This is relational wondrousness in supernormal power.

In earlier scriptures, various coarse supernormal powers and wondrous supernormal power remain separated. In the present scripture, all skillful means are opened, the real is revealed, and all return together to wondrous supernormal power. This is absolute wondrousness in supernormal power. The treatise records the subject only briefly here and does not exhaust all its principles.

From the Ineffable to Teaching for the Sake of Conditions

The eighth topic is the subtlety of teaching the Dharma. Dharmas originally cannot be displayed through forms, and the marks of words are themselves quiescent. Yet because sentient beings possess conditions for deliverance, the Buddha can also proclaim and reveal them. In the preceding subtlety, the body of the King of Medicine Trees and the body of the king of wish-fulfilling jewels first moved beings through concentration. In the present subtlety, the poison drum and heavenly drum then remove their sufferings through wisdom. What the Buddha expounds is the One Vehicle, without a distinction among three vehicles, bringing everyone to the ground of omniscience; everything he says is true and not false. The subtlety of teaching the Dharma therefore follows the subtlety of supernormal power.

The subtlety of teaching the Dharma has six divisions: first, explaining the name “Dharma”; second, distinguishing Great and Lesser; third, clarifying sameness and difference when facing different faculties and conditions; fourth, judging the meanings signified by verbal teaching; fifth, clarifying coarse and wondrous; and sixth, clarifying contemplation of mind.

A Sevenfold Analysis of the Twelve Divisions of Scripture

First comes the explanation of the Dharma-name. Although the Dharmas of the buddhas of past, present, and future are immeasurable and boundless, the twelve divisions of scripture include them all without omission. Following Dharmottara, the text first distinguishes them in seven ways: substance, form, instituting names, determining names, differences, mutual inclusion, and analysis.

Substance, Form, and Instituting Names

“Substance” is one: scriptures all take names, words, clauses, and sentences as their substance. No scripture is otherwise, so the substance is one.

“Form” is two: direct teaching in prose and praise composed in verse. People’s preferences differ; some like direct speech and others ornate language, producing two different forms.

The instituting of names has three classes. Sūtra, geya, and gāthā are named from their words and clauses, not from the meanings they signify. Prediction and seven other divisions are named neither from what they signify nor from their wording, but from the events narrated. Vaipulya alone is named from its signified meaning.

Why are they divided in this way? Sūtra and the next two divisions directly teach the characteristics of dharmas, and their names can directly disclose their content. Suffering, accumulation, cessation, and path, for example, indicate their referents as soon as their names are seen, so the name is established from the expression itself. The Dharmas signified by prediction and the other divisions cannot be explained by a name alone; they must be disclosed through a concrete event. Prediction is named from the event of conferring a prediction, but clarifies the principle that cultivating a cause produces a fruit. Principle is manifested through the event, and the event is in turn explained through words. By giving predictions to śrāvakas, the Lotus shows that everyone will become a buddha. Because its meaning is disclosed through an event of prediction, it is called a scripture of prediction.

Unsolicited teaching is likewise named from an event. Noble ones ordinarily wait to be asked before teaching, yet they must also become uninvited teachers of sentient beings. Moreover, Buddhadharma is so profound that no one is able to ask about it. If the Buddha did not speak on his own, people would have no means to know. They know neither whether the Buddha will speak nor which Dharma he will teach. By speaking without a question, the Buddha reveals the profundity of what is taught, a realm known only through personal realization. The meaning is therefore disclosed through the event of unsolicited speech.

Scripture of causes and conditions is similar. To explain precepts, someone’s transgression must first disclose the fault; only when the character of the fault becomes apparent can the precept be instituted. The teaching is thus revealed through the occasion. The Dharma-characteristic taught in a scripture of similes is subtle and hidden, so a familiar event must be borrowed to compare with a distant principle. Words furnish a comparison, and principle is disclosed through that comparison.

Scripture of former events tells the former affairs of another, while scripture of former births tells one’s own lives in the past; both move from a present event to an earlier one. A former event used to disclose what is signified is called scripture of former events; a former birth used to disclose what was practiced is called scripture of former births. Scripture of marvels recounts extraordinary events never seen before in order to show that Buddhadharma possesses great power and can bring great benefit; the wondrous event discloses what is signified. Because the words and meanings in the other divisions can be hidden, scripture of discussion uses repeated questions, answers, and distinctions to clarify the meaning disclosed. This is how prediction and the other seven divisions take their names from events.

Vaipulya is named from what it signifies. Although the principle it signifies is spoken through names, it actually transcends names and words. Though events may also be used to reveal its meaning, it cannot be grasped according to their outward appearance. It is therefore named neither from wording nor event, but from the principle signified.

Four Ways of Determining Names

Determining names has four patterns. Sūtra is translated “thread scripture”: the substance of scripture is names, while its title comes from the simile of a thread. Geya and gāthā are named directly from their literary forms. Prediction, unsolicited teaching, and discussion combine literary form with the narrated event in their names. All remaining divisions are named from events.

Nine Differences of Sūtra

Sūtra has nine meanings. First, one scripture says that everything from the opening “Thus” to the closing “put it into practice” is called sūtra. Here the name sūtra applies generally to the entire scripture and its substance includes the whole: because everything is scripture, the name is general; because the twelve divisions are then distinguished within the scripture constituted by these words, its substance is comprehensive.

Second, within the general name sūtra, the other eleven divisions are separated according to the event taught. In contrast to those eleven, what remains as direct teaching of Dharma-characteristics is sūtra in the specific sense.

Third, scripture of discussion explains the other eleven divisions, which are therefore the scriptural bases on which discussion relies. All eleven divisions interpreted by discussion can consequently be called sūtra.

Fourth, the “Sūtra Chapter” of the Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya contrasts scripture with treatise and calls scripture sūtra. Fifth, Vasubandhu explains Āryadeva’s Śataśāstra; there the treatise being explained serves as the scriptural basis, and the treatise itself is called sūtra. Sixth, a scripture says that apart from sūtra, four-line verses are verse-scripture; in contrast to four-line verse, the remaining prose is sūtra. Seventh, another scripture calls geya a verse-recitation sūtra; in contrast to the recapitulating geya, the prose being recapitulated is sūtra. Eighth, when scripture, discipline, and treatise are distinguished as the three baskets, the part setting forth and arranging principle and teaching is called sūtra, in contrast to the separately established Vinaya and Abhidharma. Ninth, a scripture says that the twelve divisions of scripture issue from the Buddha and sūtra issues from the twelve divisions. This contrasts the twelve particular teachings with the sūtra that runs through them. Together with the first two meanings, these make nine.

Gāthā, Geya, and the Remaining Differences

Gāthā has four meanings. First, when the Lotus is said to contain asaṃkhya and other numbers of verses or the Nirvāṇa twenty-five thousand verses, “verse scripture” is a general and comprehensive name. If four lines constitute one verse, an individual graph or line may be called scripture by participation in the complete verse; this does not mean each graph or line is itself a verse. Because noble speech is skillful and its clauses and sentences form complete structures, several lines compose one verse and the whole can be called verse. Second, apart from sūtra, what is composed of four lines is verse. Third, verse that recapitulates preceding prose is geya, while verse that does not recapitulate is called verse scripture. Fourth, just as sūtra first serves as a general comprehensive name and is then divided according to events, leaving direct teaching specifically named sūtra, verses too may be divided into prediction, causes and conditions, and other classes according to events. Only verse that directly teaches without following a particular event is called verse scripture.

Geya means recapitulation, of which there are three kinds: recapitulating an intention, an event, or words. Recapitulating an intention means expressing in verse the Dharma-characteristic or event held in the noble one’s mind. If the verse recapitulates a Dharma-characteristic contemplated in mind, it is gāthā scripture; if it recapitulates an event such as prediction, it follows that event into the appropriate division. Recapitulating an event means recapitulating the concrete event of prediction or another division and likewise follows the event into its own class. When words spoken in connection with an event are recapitulated, they too follow that event into its division. Only when directly taught sūtra is recapitulated is the result called geya, the scripture of recapitulating verse.

Prediction takes a future fruit to be attained as the expectation held in mind and is therefore a “record”; the noble one uses words to bestow this matter on another and it is therefore “conferred.” Prediction has two kinds. Conferring on bodhisattvas a distinction predicting buddhahood is Great Vehicle prediction. Predicting causes and fruits to be obtained soon afterward is Lesser Vehicle prediction.

Unsolicited teaching occurs in two situations. First, the principle is too deep and the purport too distant for anyone to ask an appropriate question. Second, the matter is not impossible to ask about, but the listeners ought to hear the Dharma now, so the Buddha acts as an uninvited teacher and proclaims it without waiting for a question.

Vaipulya has two kinds of breadth: breadth of words and breadth of meaning.

Mutual Inclusion among the Twelve Divisions

Mutual inclusion means that eleven divisions are separated out from sūtra. If verse is contrasted with direct teaching, sūtra can include nine divisions and lacks only gāthā and geya. Gāthā can include ten and lacks only directly taught sūtra. Geya can include nine and lacks both directly taught sūtra and nonrecapitulating verse. The received text abbreviates the further analysis of presence and absence at this point.

A Second Explanation of the Twelve Names According to the Great Treatise

Dharma-names were already discussed in the earlier account of how teachings arise. They are listed again because different authorities give different names and translations vary widely. The present account follows the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom: first, sūtra, translated as Dharma-basis, concordant scripture, or thread scripture; second, geya, recapitulation, because verse recapitulates sūtra; third, vyākaraṇa, prediction; fourth, gāthā, nonrecapitulating verse, abbreviated simply as verse and composed in four lines like poetry in China; fifth, udāna, unsolicited teaching; sixth, nidāna, causes and conditions; seventh, avadāna, simile; eighth, itivṛttaka, “thus it was said” or former event; ninth, jātaka, former birth; tenth, vaipulya, expansive teaching; eleventh, adbhutadharma, marvels; and twelfth, upadeśa, discussion.

A “division” has its own class and associated instances. “Scripture” in the foreign language is sūtra, translated here as “thread scripture.” A thread passes through things, and warp threads intersect the weft to form cloth; words similarly gather and preserve the meaning of Dharma and are therefore like a thread and a scripture. The Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya gives five meanings of sūtra; these are a treatise master’s explanations, not five translations. Secular usage contrasts warp with weft and also glosses scripture as “constant”: although the beginning and end differ in time, what runs through an affair does not change. Because it does not change, it is called constant.

1. Sūtra

The parts of scriptures that teach directly are sūtra: for example, the four Āgamas and the two hundred and fifty precepts. Direct teaching in the various Mahāyāna scriptures outside the three baskets is likewise sūtra.

2. Geya

Verses in scriptures may contain four, five, seven, or nine graphs per line, with no fixed length. Whatever recapitulates preceding prose is geya.

3. Vyākaraṇa

Vyākaraṇa records the eons associated with the three vehicles, six destinies, and nine paths. It predicts that a particular person will become a buddha, attain the fruit of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha after a certain number of years, or receive a particular recompense among the six destinies. All these are predictions.

When a prediction is conferred, the Buddha emits five-colored light from his face. Light from the two upper teeth illuminates the three evil destinies, while light from the two lower teeth illuminates humans and gods. In the light are taught impermanence, nonself, and secure nirvāṇa. Beings in the three painful destinies who encounter the light and hear the Dharma gain ease in body and mind. Disabled people in the human realm are healed. Beings in the six desire heavens become disenchanted with sensual pleasures, while beings in the form realm become disenchanted with meditative pleasure. The light fills the ten directions, universally performs buddha-work, circles the Buddha seven times, and then reenters. Reentry beneath the feet confers a prediction of the hell destiny; reentry at the lower leg, thigh, navel, chest, mouth, between the shoulders, and crown proceeds in stages up to prediction of the Buddha-path. The Treatise does not show a ray for prediction as an asura. Asuras should be separated from the ghost destiny and placed provisionally between thigh and navel.

4. Gāthā

Any verse of four, five, seven, nine, or another number of graphs that does not recapitulate preceding prose is gāthā.

5. Udāna

Some Dharmas must be spoken by the Buddha, but no one asks. The Buddha then opens the topic briefly. At Viśākhā’s Hall in Śrāvastī, for example, the Buddha walked in the shade and spontaneously taught an udāna that the absence of self and possessions is exceedingly good. In the prajñā assembly, the gods praised Subhūti’s teaching, exclaiming that the World-Honored One was rare and difficult to encounter. This too is called udāna. After the Buddha’s nirvāṇa, the disciples collected essential verses, assembling verses on impermanence as the “Chapter on Impermanence” and continuing through the “Chapter on Brahmins”; all may be called udāna.

6. Nidāna

Nidāna explains the causes and conditions through which a particular action of a buddha arose and answers why the Buddha taught that matter. In sūtra, the matter is taught because someone asked. In Vinaya, a precept is instituted because someone committed a particular act. All occasions giving rise to the Buddha’s words are nidāna.

7. Avadāna

Avadāna takes events similar to things in the world and uses gentle, accessible words to make comparisons: the long simile of the Madhyama Āgama, the great simile of the Dīrgha Āgama, and the similes of Koṭikarṇa and Śroṇakoṭikarṇa are examples. Immeasurable similes are all avadāna.

8. Itivṛttaka

Itivṛttaka has two kinds. The first is a concluding sentence meaning: what I previously promised to teach has now been completed. The second is a separate kind of scripture called itimuttaka, also called indakamuttaka by some, found in both the three baskets and Mahāyāna.

Its example is this. King Śuddhodana compelled a thousand Śākyans to renounce the household. The Buddha selected five hundred capable of attaining the path, took them to Śrāvastī, and separated them from their relatives. Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana instructed them. They practiced diligently through the first, middle, and last watches without sleeping and consequently felt that the night was long. After attaining the path and returning home, they came from a forest fifty li outside Kapilavastu to beg in the city and again felt that the road was long. A lion then came to bow at the Buddha’s feet, and because of these three conditions the Buddha spoke a verse. Recounting the former conditions behind these three events is called itivṛttaka.

9. Jātaka

Jātaka recounts a bodhisattva’s former births. Once, as a lion, the bodhisattva was entrusted by a monkey with the care of its young and tore flesh from his own flank to exchange for the monkey. In a world stricken by disease he became a red-eyed fish and made a gift to aid the sick. As a bird he rescued someone who had fallen into water. Immeasurable former births containing such acts of saving sentient beings are jātaka.

10. Vaipulya

Vaipulya includes the Mahāyāna Prajñā Sūtra, the Sūtra of the Six Pāramitās, Flower Crown, the Lotus, Origins of the Buddha, Cloud of Conditions, Dharma Cloud, Great Cloud, and immeasurable other scriptures. Scriptures taught to enable sentient beings to attain unsurpassed complete awakening are all vaipulya.

11. Adbhutadharma

The Buddha manifests various supernormal powers that cause sentient beings to marvel at what they have never seen. Emitting light, moving the earth, and all extraordinary signs are adbhutadharma.

12. Upadeśa

Upadeśa answers various questions, explains why things are so, and extensively unfolds different meanings. Whatever interprets meaning through this kind of question and answer is upadeśa. Discussion spoken by the Buddha himself, Kātyāyana’s explanations, and even Dharma-concordant teachings of ordinary people in the age of the semblance Dharma can all be called upadeśa scripture.

Great and Lesser Vehicles and the Twelve Divisions

The second division distinguishes the magnitude of Dharma. The Lotus calls nine divisions the basis for entering the Great Vehicle. In specific treatment, those nine belong to the Lesser Vehicle and the other three to the Great. Generally, however, the Lesser Vehicle also includes predictions of causes and fruits in the six destinies. The Āgamas predict Maitreya’s future buddhahood—how could prediction be absent? Lesser Vehicle scriptures also contain self-praise and speech offered without a question. Śrāvaka scripture calls the emptiness of dharmas “great emptiness,” and the Satyasiddhi Treatise says that it precisely wishes to reveal the real meaning in the three baskets: emptiness, which the Abhidharma did not fully unfold. Emptiness is expansive scripture. Thus the Lesser Vehicle generally possesses all twelve divisions.

The Nirvāṇa therefore says that although the twelve divisions had been heard before, only their names and not their meanings had been heard; only through the Nirvāṇa is their meaning now heard. It also says that even after hearing the twelve divisions, one still thought that none was like the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. The Large Prajñā describes Māra appearing as a monk and teaching a bodhisattva the śrāvaka twelve divisions. Another scripture says that the Great and Lesser Vehicles each possess twelve: those who accept that six divisions are shared accept their application to both, while those who do not accept that sharing regard them as mutually exclusive. These passages show that both Vehicles possess twelve, although the meanings taught in the Lesser are not those clarified in the Great. Specific treatment therefore yields three and retains nine.

Why yield three? The Lesser Vehicle takes reducing the body to ash and extinguishing cognition as its destination and lacks the body of a king of wish-fulfilling jewels; it is therefore said to lack vaipulya. Even if the wording concerning Dharma-emptiness is treated as expansive, those of dull faculties require occasions before Dharma is taught and do not possess the heavenly drum’s spontaneous sound, so unsolicited teaching is rare. Although they receive predictions, predictions of buddhahood are few. Fascicle seven of the Nirvāṇa also says that one who claims the nine divisions do not reveal buddha-nature commits no offense; by inference, one who says the twelve do not reveal buddha-nature does commit an offense.

Some say that the Great Vehicle has only nine divisions, excluding causes and conditions, simile, and discussion because people of sharp Great Vehicle faculties do not need them. This too is only specific treatment. Generally, how could the Great Vehicle lack these three? Another scripture says that the Lesser Vehicle yields only expansive scripture and thus possesses eleven divisions. It lacks vaipulya because the Great Vehicle teaches the Tathāgata’s permanence and the buddha-nature of all sentient beings: correct principle is “direction,” rich inclusion is “expansive,” and principle interfusing without duality is also “equal.” These meanings do not occur in śrāvaka Dharma, so eleven divisions are taught. If the Lesser Vehicle were definitively limited to nine, eleven could not also be accepted. Once eleven can be taken, all twelve can also be generally present. In short, specific teaching for different faculties yields three divisions or one and thereby distinguishes Great from Lesser.

How Dharma Is Taught to Different Faculties and Conditions

The third division explains differences in responding to conditions. “Conditions” means sentient beings constituted by ten causes and conditions, each with faculties and dispositions of the ten Dharma realms. Those already mature first evoke the Buddha’s transformation. The Buddha knows who is and is not mature and never misses the proper time in teaching. If conditions for liberation have not ripened, these beings still cannot be abandoned; for such faculties, only the human and heavenly vehicles are taught, without using the names sūtra and the other twelve divisions.

Non-Buddhist works in India consequently possess neither the names nor meanings of the twelve divisions; the Confucian and Daoist classics here possess neither. Even when the Dharma-body appears as a king and teaches the ten wholesome actions, it does not mix in the names of the twelve divisions. The Bodhisattvabhūmi therefore says that a bodhisattva with the lineage can mature oneself and others; those with the lineage of the two vehicles or buddhas mature through corresponding Dharma, while those without a lineage are first matured through fortunate destinies. That maturation through fortunate destinies is exactly the present meaning. Maturation of lineages is explained later. A practitioner of deep contemplation who skillfully understands this can use unobstructed eloquence to establish the meanings of the twelve divisions within deviant teachings and outside classics and turn deviant characteristics into correct ones; but these are not the twelve divisions formally taught by the Tathāgata to particular faculties.

For sentient beings constituted by the ten causes and conditions, one with Lesser Vehicle faculties is generally taught twelve divisions and specifically nine or eleven. One with bodhisattva faculties is not addressed through the specific yielding of divisions, but is taught all twelve.

The Tathāgata generally teaches the Dharma of the twelve divisions to four kinds of faculties and conditions, using two different arrangements called “four teachings.”

The first arrangement combines hidden and manifest modes into four. Hidden means the Secret Teaching. The manifest modes are sudden, gradual, and indeterminate. Because the Secret is hidden and unmanifest and does not circulate publicly in the world, it is set aside here. General teaching of the twelve divisions to beings in four Dharma realms, with nine or eleven in specific treatment, is gradual Dharma-teaching. General teaching of the twelve to beings in two Dharma realms is sudden Dharma-teaching. Teaching sometimes four Dharma realms and sometimes two, sometimes specifically and sometimes only generally, is indeterminate Dharma-teaching.

The second arrangement operates only within manifest gradual teaching and further distinguishes the Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct, and Perfect Teachings. The Tripiṭaka Teaching directly addresses three Dharma realms and specifically teaches nine or eleven divisions. The Shared addresses four realms and generally teaches twelve. The Distinct addresses two realms and generally teaches twelve. The Perfect addresses one realm and generally teaches twelve.

In the earlier account of the body-wheel, various forms were manifested by joining the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation with different kinds of kindness and compassion: a state preceptor, Daoist, Confucian master, parent, sibling, monkey, ape, deer, or horse could be displayed to work alongside sentient beings and benefit them in incalculable numbers. The present account of the speech-wheel likewise describes kindnesses and compassions perfuming the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation so that hundreds of thousands of millions of Dharma-gates can be proclaimed without exhaustion. Their inexhaustibility is compared to what is stored in dragon palaces or carried by elephants, or to draining the sea for ink and grinding down mountains for inkstones without exhausting the eighty-four thousand Dharma stores. Boundless though the Dharma stores are, the twelve divisions include them without omission.

Depths of Meaning Signified by the Twelve Divisions

The fourth division judges what is signified. A detailed explanation belongs in the doctrine of the four teachings; only the general purport is given here.

When the human and heavenly vehicles are taught, they signify only conceivable conventional truth within the three realms and never true truth. In gradual teaching, whether nine or eleven divisions are taught specifically or all twelve generally, the initial stage primarily signifies conceivable conventional truth and secondarily conceivable true truth. The middle stage primarily signifies conceivable true truth and secondarily conceivable conventional truth. The later stage primarily signifies inconceivable true truth and secondarily inconceivable conventional truth, until true and conventional can be signified together. Sudden teaching through the twelve divisions primarily signifies inconceivable true truth and secondarily inconceivable conventional truth. In the Indeterminate Teaching, what is signified cannot be fixed.

Within the four forms of gradual teaching, the Tripiṭaka primarily signifies conceivable true truth and secondarily conceivable conventional truth; when taught for Tripiṭaka bodhisattvas, it primarily signifies conceivable conventional and secondarily conceivable true. For the two vehicles and beginning bodhisattvas in the Shared Teaching, it primarily signifies conceivable true and secondarily conventional. For later Shared-Teaching bodhisattvas, it primarily signifies conventional and secondarily true.

For the beginning mind of the Distinct Teaching, it primarily signifies true and conventional truths within the three realms and secondarily those beyond. For the middle mind, it primarily signifies the true and conventional beyond and secondarily those within. For the later mind, it signifies the truths within and beyond together. For the beginning, middle, and later minds of the Perfect Teaching, it always completely signifies the inconceivable true and conventional truths beyond the three realms.

Coarse and Wondrous in Teaching the Dharma

The fifth division clarifies coarse and wondrous in five ways: according to principle, words, what is signified, scriptures, and the present Lotus.

According to Principle

From the side of principle, all dharmas are the Middle Way. Liberation is not something else found only after leaving words behind. The nature of words is itself detached and is immediately liberation; all speech is therefore wondrous as principle. It is like rain from a dragon that becomes different things wherever it falls—water, fire, or weapons. Principle is the same: everything is inherently present within it, while sentient beings’ affective understanding either conflicts or accords. Conflict with principle is coarse; accord with it is wondrous.

According to Words

From the night of attaining the path until the evening of nirvāṇa, the Buddha constantly teaches prajñā and the Middle Way. The Buddha expounds Dharma through one sound, yet sentient beings gain different understandings according to their classes. The single sound’s ability to teach skillfully is wondrous; among the different understandings are naturally both coarse and wondrous.

According to What Is Signified

When the human and heavenly vehicles are taught to beings of the six destinies, conditioned dharmas are signified and both teaching and meaning are coarse. When the Tripiṭaka’s five gates are taught to dull faculties and signify the principle of the four truths as arising and ceasing, both are coarse. The Shared Teaching’s five gates use integral contemplation and are more skillful than the Tripiṭaka’s analytical approach, but because what they signify is still true truth, the signified remains coarse. In the Distinct Teaching’s five gates, what signifies is coarse while the signified Middle Way is wondrous. In the Perfect Teaching’s five gates, both signifier and signified are wondrous.

According to the Various Scriptures

Among scriptures, the Avataṃsaka signifies Distinct and Perfect, the three baskets signify partial principle, the Vaipulya period signifies four, the Prajñā three, and the Lotus only one. The wondrous signified in the other scriptures does not differ from the Lotus, but is mixed with coarse signification. Because the coarse cannot be merged with the wondrous, those scriptures are named coarse as wholes. The Lotus differs: the Buddha teaches equally like rain of one flavor, directly abandons skillful means, and teaches only the unsurpassed path. It has only one pure signification.

The scripture also says that śrāvakas were formerly rebuked and disparaged, yet the Buddha had in fact always taught them through the Great Vehicle. It further says, “What you practice is the bodhisattva path.” What had been judged coarse is thereby interfused as wondrous. Because both meanings differ from other scriptures, this is called wondrous. It is like a good physician transforming poison into medicine: the dispositions of the two vehicles were called ruined and unable to turn, and thus called poison; in the Lotus they now receive predictions of buddhahood, which is transforming poison into medicine. The Treatise therefore says that other scriptures are not secret but the Lotus is secret. The complete teaching of the Origin is also absent from other scriptures and will be explained extensively below.

The Twelve Divisions Specifically in the Lotus

First, sūtra is direct teaching. The direct teaching in the Lotus teaches only the Middle-Way wisdom of a buddha. It does not teach Dharmas of the six destinies, two vehicles, or bodhisattvas, but only Buddha-Dharma; hence direct teaching is wondrous.

Second, geya only recapitulates the Middle Way taught in prose and is therefore wondrous.

Third, gāthā includes the Dragon Girl’s offering of the jewel and verses of the bodhisattva Joyful Seen, which arise independently rather than following prose. The Dragon Girl’s verse clarifies her attainment of complete awakening in an instant and praises the matter of awakening. Joyful Seen’s independent verse praises the exceedingly wondrous appearance of the Buddha. Independent gāthā is therefore wondrous.

Fourth, former event recounts that twenty thousand buddhas taught only the unsurpassed path and no other affair; hence former event is wondrous.

Fifth, former birth recounts the sixteen princes. In embodied life they were born as princes; in Dharma-body they were born as buddha-children. Former birth is therefore wondrous.

Sixth, causes and conditions recounts how the sixteen princes repeated the Great Vehicle teaching for the assembly and formed connections, and how the jewel was tied within the garment. These are not conditions concerning Lesser Vehicle, human, or heavenly paths. Causes and conditions is therefore wondrous.

Seventh, marvels recounts heavenly flowers descending, the earth moving, the light between the brows, and the three transformations of the lands. These are inconceivable wondrous events never seen before, so marvels is wondrous.

Eighth, simile joins Dharma and simile in a scriptural title. What is compared is opening the provisional to reveal the real: opening the three vehicles as skillful means and revealing the One Vehicle as real. Nothing else is made the object of comparison, so simile is wondrous.

Ninth, in upadeśa, Śāriputra asks and the Buddha answers concerning the gateway of buddha-wisdom. The Dragon Girl and the bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated likewise question and answer concerning matters in the Lotus. Wisdom Accumulated says he saw Śākyamuni Buddha attain awakening only after immeasurable eons and does not believe the girl can become a buddha in an instant; he clings to a Distinct meaning and doubts the Perfect. The Dragon Girl says that only the Buddha can know and offers the round jewel to answer the Distinct attachment with the Perfect meaning. Discussion is therefore wondrous.

Tenth, unsolicited teaching is exemplified when no one asks and the Buddha speaks on his own, praises the path he has practiced, rises serenely from samādhi, addresses Śāriputra, and teaches buddha-wisdom. He also says that he will now teach their former conditions. This makes unsolicited teaching wondrous.

Eleventh, prediction confers predictions of buddhahood on śrāvakas of upper, middle, and lower faculties, saying that they all abide in real wisdom and are honored by gods and humans. Prediction is therefore wondrous.

Twelfth, vaipulya speaks of the cart as lofty and broad and wisdom as profound and far-reaching. Vaipulya is therefore wondrous.

Thus the Lotus, from its opening direct teaching through upadeśa, completely possesses all twelve meanings, each wondrous. This is the subtlety of teaching the Dharma described relationally in contrast to the coarse.

The coarse is then opened to reveal the wondrous. The twelve, eleven, or nine divisions formerly did not proclaim the real. Now it is disclosed that no real exists apart from those former Dharmas; what differs is only their former state of not revealing it. Formerly only breadth of words was taught, not breadth of meaning. Now that breadth of words is opened and revealed as immediately breadth of meaning. Opening former difference and revealing present sameness describes the subtlety of teaching the Dharma beyond relational contrast.

The sixth division, contemplation of mind, is missing from the extant text.

Why Retinues Follow Teaching the Dharma

The ninth topic is the subtlety of retinues, divided into five: first, the reason for its introduction; second, an explanation of retinues; third, coarse and wondrous; fourth, Dharma-gates; and fifth, contemplation of mind.

First comes the sequence. If no Dharma were taught, there would be nothing more to say. Once Dharma is taught, however, it must be received by corresponding faculties and conditions; those conditions are the people who receive the path. Having received the path, they become retinues. It is like parents leaving a body to a child, who receives it and grows a body of one’s own and thereby becomes natural kin. Natural kin love one another and are therefore called intimates; they also belong to and defer to one another and are therefore called dependents.

Practitioners are the same. When precepts are received, the teacher speaks the precept-Dharma to the person present; upon hearing it, that person activates the substance of the precepts, and the teacher-disciple relation is born. It is likewise with meditation: the teacher transmits a Dharma for settling the mind, the student practices as taught and activates concentration, and the transmitter is my teacher while I am the disciple. It is likewise with wisdom: someone teaches various Dharma-gates, their meaning enters the listener’s mind, and kinship is formed through Dharma. Closeness leads to trust and trust to obedience. This is called a retinue.

In other buddha-lands other faculties may be keen, and the Buddha can initiate transformation through whatever sensory object is employed. In this land the ear faculty is keen, so sound is used especially. Twenty thousand buddhas taught the unsurpassed path, and the sixteen princes repeated the Lotus. From then on the listeners remained the Buddha’s retinues, sharing life after life with the teacher: sometimes as human or heavenly retinues, sometimes as retinues of the three vehicles, and sometimes of the One Vehicle.

Śāriputra therefore said that only now did he know he was truly a buddha-child. Formerly the Buddha transformed the first five disciples and led them to the real uncontaminated state, so they were called buddha-children, while bodhisattvas who had not yet activated the real were called outsiders. Only when Great Vehicle understanding arose in the Lotus did Śāriputra acknowledge that he had not formerly been a true buddha-child. Now the Buddha teaches the single real path, and sentient beings give rise to the Dharma-body through hearing, awakening, and understanding. Being born from the Buddha’s mouth is birth of the Dharma-body within wisdom from hearing; being transformed through Dharma, birth within wisdom from reflection; receiving a share of the Buddha’s Dharma, birth within wisdom from cultivation. When the three wisdoms are complete, one is a true buddha-child: the natural relation of father and child and the retinue are established. The subtlety of retinues therefore follows the subtlety of teaching the Dharma.

Five Kinds of Retinues in Phenomena

The second division explains retinues in five kinds: retinues by nature, karma-born, vow-born, supernormal-power-born, and response-born retinues.

Retinues by Nature

The suchness of sentient beings and the Buddha’s suchness are one suchness, not two. Their natures are naturally related, so beings are spontaneously buddha-children. The scripture says that the Buddha is the most honored among the noble ones and father of the world, and all sentient beings are his children. From the side of nature, all are buddha-children whether or not they have ever formed a phenomenal connection.

Karma-Born Retinues

By principle, all sentient beings are buddha-children; but they resemble children who have mistakenly drunk another person’s poison, some losing their senses and some retaining them. Those who have not lost their senses bow to the father, kneel, inquire after him, and ask to be rescued. When the father gives medicine, they take it immediately. Thus, at the time of Great Penetrating Wisdom Excellence Buddha, the sixteen princes repeated the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka and formed with them the Great Vehicle relation of father and child.

Children who have lost their senses refuse the good medicine even when it is given. They wander through birth-and-death like someone who has fled to another country. The Buddha then establishes skillful means: sometimes forming connections through the Tripiṭaka Teaching by explaining arising and ceasing; sometimes through the Shared Teaching by explaining nonarising; sometimes through the Distinct Teaching by explaining the immeasurable Buddhadharmas of nonarising yet arising; and sometimes through the Perfect Teaching by explaining the one true mark as neither arising nor nonarising. Whether they accept or slander the teaching, a cause of connection remains. Slanderers first fall through inversion, but that condition later arises again and they are ultimately delivered, as the treatise says concerning the later deliverance associated with Joyful Root.

After connections have been formed, the Buddha enters the twenty-five existences through the twenty-five samādhis and teaches the Dharma of the three truths to mature them. Some have been delivered in intermediate lives and others remain undelivered in the present; both delivered and undelivered are retinues.

When a Tripiṭaka buddha now renounces the household and attains the path in a land of segmented birth-and-death, some who formerly formed Tripiṭaka connections attain the path and others do not. Those delivered reduce the body to ash and extinguish cognition, so no further birth in response to conditions is discussed. Those not delivered are drawn by old connections to the segmented land. Those who formerly accepted earnestly and followed become close associates and receive the path; those who trusted and followed only slightly become distant outsiders and receive it; those who formerly rejected and slandered become enemies and receive it.

When the first dew of immortality descends, they taste it first, quickly sever segmented birth-and-death, and escape saṃsāra; like a great elephant protecting the herd, they attain liberation together. The first five buddha-children and the others have surnames different from the Buddha’s but are Dharma-kin and inner retinues. A biological relative who has not attained the path remains an outer retinue and receives no present benefit from the Buddha. If the Buddha enters nirvāṇa and no longer appears in that world, the person’s connection with this Buddha reaches an interval and is passed to a later buddha for further transformation.

Vow-Born Retinues

Vow-born retinues formed connections with the Buddha in a former life. Although their suffering has not yet been severed, they vow to be born among the Buddha’s inner retinues or as an enemy and to receive the path through that relation. If they attain the path, they become retinues within the Dharma; if not, retinues outside it. If the Buddha enters nirvāṇa before they benefit, they too are passed on to a later buddha.

Supernormal-Power-Born Retinues

Supernormal-power retinues formerly encountered the Buddha, activated the real, and saw truth, but have not completely ended birth-and-death. They may dwell in an upper realm or another land. When the Buddha now attains buddhahood in a segmented land, they use vows or supernormal power to be born below as intimates, intermediates, or enemies, assist the Buddha’s transforming work, and sever their remaining delusion and karma as they leave the three realms. If the Buddha enters nirvāṇa before the remaining delusions are exhausted, they can sever them independently or await a later buddha.

The Tripiṭaka does not teach birth beyond the three realms. Understood through the Great Vehicle, those formerly delivered by a buddha who have ended birth in the three realms receive a body in transformational birth-and-death and are drawn by former connections to a segmented land. This is not karma-birth, but only vow-birth or supernormal-power-birth.

How do vow-birth and supernormal-power-birth differ? It is called supernormal power according to the force of one’s own recompense and vow according to the teaching received. One born through supernormal power retains a recompense-body at the original place and divides a form through bodily power to come here. One born through a vow has no body at the original place of recompense and descends only through vow-power. The Tripiṭaka does not teach that someone who has severed afflictions again receives a body in birth-and-death by a vow, so this kind of vow-birth cannot be discussed according to Tripiṭaka meaning. The Shared Teaching says that a bodhisattva vows to use residual habits in support of birth in the segmented realm, making vow-birth more fitting in its terms. These people have not attained the Dharma-body and therefore possess no response-born retinues. This completes the Tripiṭaka retinues.

Among those who formerly formed connections with the Dharma of nonarising, some have attained the path and others have not; the Buddha now attains buddhahood in a segmented land. Those present here who have not attained the path include karma-born retinues. Those descending from upper realms include vow- and power-born retinues as before. Those coming horizontally from another land also include vow and power, as do those coming vertically from a land of skillful means. People of the Shared Teaching have not attained the Dharma-body and thus have no response-born retinues.

Those who formerly formed Distinct-Teaching connections worked alongside sentient beings in intermediate lives, teaching and admonishing through various teachings, maturing some and leaving others immature. When the Buddha now attains buddhahood in a segmented land, those present here who have not attained the path are karma-born. Those descending from upper realms include vow and power; those coming horizontally from another land, vow and power; those coming vertically from a land of skillful means, vow and power. Those coming vertically from the land of real recompense are response-born: they have already broken ignorance, attained the foundation of the Dharma-body, and can raise a response-body to enter birth-and-death, unlike the first two teachings.

Those who formerly formed Perfect-Teaching connections were disciplined and matured in intermediate lives, some attaining the path and others not. When the Buddha now attains buddhahood in a segmented land, they gather as drawn by former connections, but with different categories. Those present here who have not attained include one kind, karma-born. Those descending from upper realms include vow and power; those coming horizontally from another land, vow and power; those coming from a land of skillful means, vow and power; and those coming from the land of real recompense, one kind, response-born. These follow the preceding patterns.

Why a Response-Body Takes Birth

Someone asks: if the delusions of the Dharma-body have been removed and principle revealed, why does it still take birth?

The answer is that a response-body takes birth for three purposes: maturing others, maturing oneself, and being drawn by original connections.

Coming to Mature Others

The wholesome roots of karma-born beings are weak and cannot activate themselves. Bodhisattvas formerly delivered take pity on their darkness, raise responses through kindness, enter the twenty-five existences as teachers and guides, and lead practicing sentient beings to the Buddha. Those who attain the real path become inner retinues like the response-born guides. Those who attain only resemblance become like vow- and power-born retinues. Those who attain neither real nor resemblance are still advanced in their excellent karma. Every class benefits, and the bodhisattvas’ birth is not in vain.

The Avataṃsaka says that when the Buddha first entered the womb, Dharma-body bodhisattvas all descended in attendance like clouds enclosing the moon. Other bodhisattvas scattered into different wombs and became intimates, intermediates, and enemies who guided karma-born beings. These retinues were therefore not ordinary beings in birth-and-death. Māyā is mother of a thousand buddhas, Śuddhodana father of a thousand buddhas, and Rāhula son of a thousand buddhas. The śrāvakas inwardly conceal real virtues and outwardly display ordinary characteristics. Although they seem to possess greed, anger, and delusion, they are purifying buddha-lands. Relatives too are high-stage Dharma-body bodhisattvas appearing through great skillful means. How could an ordinary being bear a bodhisattva with the strength of Nārāyaṇa?

Even non-Buddhist enemies who resist and slander the Buddha are manifestations of the Dharma-body. A wheel-turning king with only minor worldly good has no enemies; how could the unsurpassed Dharma-king find enemies along every road? Anyone who commits evil against the Buddha should fall into an evil path. How then could they plainly return life after life to trouble him? Only something other than a donkey can withstand the trampling of a great dragon-elephant. Devadatta is the bodhisattva Great Piṅgala and was the Buddha’s great good friend in a former life. Ajātaśatru is the bodhisattva Immovable; Satyaka Nirgrantha the bodhisattva Great Skillful Means; and Māra Pāpīyas abides in inconceivable liberation. The Avataṃsaka assembly likewise says that gods, dragons, ghosts, and spirits all abide in inconceivable Dharma-gates.

Thus any intimate, intermediary, or enemy, whether good or evil, opposed or compliant, who has attained the Dharma-body was formerly an inner retinue and now appears as a response-born retinue. Those displaying the same relations without having attained the Dharma-body formed connections formerly but remain outside the Dharma and are collectively called vow-born, karma-born, and other retinues.

Other scriptures also teach these skillful manifestations for benefiting sentient beings, but people take them to be actual inner or outer, good or evil, opposed or compliant roles. A scripture therefore says that such a matter had never before been told to anyone. In the Lotus, the Buddha himself opens and reveals the recent lifetime as provisional and the distant past as real; he likewise opens the retinues’ Trace as provisional and reveals their Origin as real. The scripture says that he will now teach them the most real matter. This is the response-born retinue coming to mature others.

Coming for Self-Accomplishment

Second is coming for one’s own accomplishment. A Dharma-body bodhisattva’s mode of progress is not fixed: sometimes progress occurs through an embodied life and sometimes through the Dharma-body. The bodhisattvas who emerged from below therefore said that they too wished to attain this true, pure, great Dharma. The “Distinguishing Qualities” chapter’s increase in the path and diminution of birth-and-death has the same meaning.

Coming Because of Original Connections

Third is being drawn by original connections. Retinues first aroused the aspiration to the path from this Buddha and reached nonretrogression through this Buddha. The Buddha himself enters segmented birth-and-death to perform buddha-work; how could those connected with him fail to come? Just as all rivers flow toward the sea, they take responsive birth because drawn by connections.

Specifically, karma-birth occurs in segmented lands, vow- and power-birth in lands of skillful means, and response-birth in the land of quiescent light. Generally, all four may be present in one place. In the land of real recompense, for example, those who have attained the Dharma-body can raise response-bodies and also appear as all four kinds of retinue. Those who have formed Perfect-Teaching connections but have not severed delusion possess the three kinds of karma, vow, and power; those who have attained the path possess all four. Distinct-Teaching retinues likewise possess four. Shared and Tripiṭaka connections each possess three. Even without “response” through a Dharma-body, there remains response in the sense that sentient beings stimulate and buddhas and bodhisattvas answer. When named from the response attained, the four meanings remain distinctly complete.

The Distinction between Coming and Being Born

Someone asks: bodhisattvas from below emerge from the earth, the bodhisattva Wondrous Sound comes from the east, and the Great Scripture summons great bodhisattvas of the ten directions to gather in the śāla grove and make the great lion’s roar. To which of the four kinds of retinues do they belong?

The answer is that this is coming through supernormal power, not being born through it; coming responsively, not taking response-birth; a relation through great vows, not birth through vows; and mutual summons by conditions. The bodhisattvas below hear the sound and Wondrous Sound sees the light; both come for the great buddha-affair, not through karmic birth. Those born through karma cannot come by karma, and coming by karma does not equal karma-birth. Those born through vows or supernormal power cannot come through vows or supernormal power. Those who come through vows or power can also take birth through vows or power or come responsively; those able to come responsively can also take responsive birth.

Coarse and Wondrous Retinues

The third division clarifies coarse and wondrous. Tripiṭaka retinues have low faculties, shallow former connections, and little intermediate maturation. If they are born in a buddha-land as inner or outer retinues—whether karma-, vow-, or power-born, or even if they come responsively as the supporting assembly of a Tripiṭaka buddha—they are coarse retinues. Shared- and Distinct-Teaching retinues, including their respective inner and outer retinues, differ in relative skill but are likewise judged coarse.

The Lotus says that all sentient beings are buddha-children, not outsiders hired to labor. According to nature, no being is not a buddha-child, and retinues by nature are wondrous. Formerly the sixteen princes repeated the Lotus, formed connections, and tied the jewel inside the garment; twenty thousand koṭis of buddhas all taught the unsurpassed path. The scripture says that whenever the Buddha encounters sentient beings he teaches them all the Buddha-path. If beings lacked buddha-nature while the Buddha taught them the Buddha-path, the fault would lie with the Buddha. If all possess it but fail to accept because of delusion, the fault lies with the beings. All who possess mind will become buddhas. An icchantika has not entirely extinguished mind and can still turn; why should buddhahood be difficult?

The two vehicles reduce the body to ash and extinguish cognition: cognition exhausted, mind ends; body reduced, form ends. With form and mind both destroyed they can do nothing in relation to the five desires. Yet the Buddha can meet them life after life and always teach them the Buddha-path: this is wondrous intermediate maturation. Now in the Lotus they universally attain buddhahood, which is rare. The supreme king of physicians transforms poison into medicine, cures ruined seeds, and enables those considered mindless to become buddhas: this is the wondrousness of inner and outer retinues.

It is like contending for merit in battle: the vanguard gains merit first. The Buddha’s various teachings gather sentient beings, but śrāvakas whose minds had become ash failed everywhere to enter until they suddenly entered in the Lotus. The Nirvāṇa therefore points from afar to eight thousand śrāvakas having already received predictions in the Lotus, like autumn harvest followed by winter storage: the work is complete and no further task remains. If they had not awakened to buddha-nature in the Lotus, the Nirvāṇa should not point to their predictions. If beings originally lacked buddha-nature, they should not have been taught the Buddha-path when connections were first formed. Tracing the beginning and examining the end makes the meaning of buddha-nature clear.

Now ask those who claim the Avataṃsaka is the sudden and ultimate teaching: does it or does it not say all sentient beings possess buddha-nature? If so, why did people of the two vehicles neither hear the scripture nor receive predictions of buddhahood but instead resemble the deaf and mute? If they originally possessed buddha-nature but hastily adopted the Lesser, like castrated men whose roots are ruined, can they be cured? If so, why were they not cured? If not, how can all beings be said to possess buddha-nature? What the Avataṃsaka cannot cure is therefore taught as skillful means; the Lotus cures it and is the teaching as it really is. Its wondrousness appears in curing the most difficult to cure.

The wondrousness of forming connections, maturation, karma-birth, vow-birth, response-birth, inner retinues, and outer retinues all lies in receiving the wondrous path and reflecting wondrous affairs. Judged through the five flavors, the milk teaching has Distinct and Perfect retinues, one coarse and one wondrous; curds has one coarse; raw ghee has three coarse and one wondrous; refined ghee two coarse and one wondrous; and the Lotus no coarse and only wondrous. This is the relational meaning of wondrous retinues.

Next the coarse is opened to reveal the wondrous. The coarse retinues in other scriptures did not see buddha-nature. The Lotus now determines natural kinship and confirms father and child, no longer treating beings as hired laborers. The bodhisattva Never Disparaging profoundly understood this: knowing that the proper cause in every being is never extinguished, he dared not belittle anyone. If someone hears even one sentence from any past buddha, whether presently abiding or already in nirvāṇa, that person can attain the Buddha-path; this shows the discerning cause is never extinguished. Lowering the head or raising a hand can also lead to the Buddha-path; this shows the conditioning cause is never extinguished. All sentient beings possess the three virtues of proper, discerning, and conditioning causes. This is opening the coarse to reveal the wondrous and explaining wondrous retinues beyond relational contrast.

Dharma-Gates Are Also Retinues

The fourth division concerns Dharma-gate retinues. The bodhisattva Universal Appearance asks Vimalakīrti who his parents, wife, relatives, retinues, officials, people, and friends are, and where his slaves, attendants, elephants, horses, and vehicles may be found. Vimalakīrti answers that skillful means is father and wisdom’s perfection mother; all guides of sentient beings are born from them. Dharma-joy is wife, kindness and compassion daughters, the wholesome and honest mind son, ultimate empty quiescence the dwelling; various defilements are disciples, transformed freely as the mind wishes; factors of the path are good friends through whom complete awakening is accomplished. This takes Dharma-gates as retinues. Different gates possess different depths.

In Tripiṭaka Dharma-gates, contemplating true truth is real wisdom and contemplating provisional existence is provisional wisdom. When both are complete, this is named a buddha, and the buddha is the guide. Kindness and compassion toward beings in the six destinies are called the daughter; causing others to accord wholesomely with true truth, the son. Joy on attaining this Dharma is the wife. The various pāramitās and factors of the path cultivated in mind are good friends.

In Shared-Teaching Dharma-gates, contemplating all dharmas as like illusions and transformations and penetrating their immediate emptiness is real wisdom; distinguishing the sameness and difference of the four gates is provisional wisdom. Understanding born from these two wisdoms is called the guide. Loving sentient beings is the daughter; causing them to give rise to wholesome and upright minds, the son; cultivating the six pāramitās and factors of the path, good friends. These are Shared-Teaching Dharma-gate retinues.

The Distinct Teaching has Dharma-gate retinues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Combining true and conventional truths is provisional wisdom, and wisdom is father; the real principle of the Middle Way is mother. Immeasurable kindnesses, factors of the path, and pāramitās are all penetrated without obstruction. Knowledge of path varieties is clear, able to contemplate sentient beings’ faculties and identify corresponding Dharma-medicines. These are Distinct-Teaching retinues.

The Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings therefore says that buddhas, Dharma-kings, are father, scriptural teaching the lady and mother, and their union gives birth to bodhisattva-children. The Treatise on the Ten Abodes says that the pratyutpanna samādhi is father and great compassion and nonarising mother; all tathāgatas are born from these two Dharmas. The Ratnagotravibhāga says that faith in the Great Vehicle is the child, prajñā the mother, dhyāna the womb, great compassion the nurse, and buddhas children of suchness.

Icchantikas have the obstruction of slandering the Great Vehicle, non-Buddhists that of falsely conceiving a self in the body, śrāvakas that of fearing birth-and-death, and pratyekabuddhas that of abandoning benefit to sentient beings. Bodhisattvas cultivate four Dharmas as remedies: faith, prajñā, space-like and heroic-march samādhis, and great compassion. They thereby attain the pure Dharma realm, reach the further shore, see the Tathāgata-nature, are born into the Tathāgata’s household, and become buddha-children. Since seeing the Tathāgata-nature and being born in the Tathāgata’s household are taught, the Tathāgata is clearly father. Immeasurable, boundless, and inexpressibly many Dharma-gates all give birth to buddha-children.

In the Perfect Teaching’s Dharma-gate retinues, three truths and one truth are real according to one’s own practice. For transforming others, one truth and three truths are provisional. According with sentient beings’ affective understanding, one truth and three are provisional; according with the Buddha’s wisdom, three truths and one are real. Understanding arises from this inconceivable object. The myriad wholesome practices in one mind are the son, objectless great kindness the daughter, joy born from opening the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing the wife, and the Middle Way beyond purity and defilement, the factors of the path, and the six pāramitās the good friends. Such retinues take the perfectly ultimate Dharma-gate of the true mark as their family. A bodhisattva at the first abode accomplishes awakening and transforms sentient beings through the eight marks, becoming the guide. Since former Dharma-gates were coarse, the guides they produced were coarse; the present Dharma-gate retinues are wondrous, and the guide they produce is wondrous.

Judged again through the five flavors, milk has one coarse and one wondrous; curds only one coarse; raw ghee three coarse and one wondrous; refined ghee two coarse and one wondrous; and the Lotus only one wondrous. This is wondrousness in relation to the coarse.

In other scriptures, wondrous self-practice remains wondrous and coarse self-practice coarse. The Lotus does not merely leave what was wondrous as wondrous, nor does it retain any coarse. Every coarse Dharma formerly taught is now fully resolved and becomes the one wondrous Dharma-gate of equal great wisdom. This transcends relational contrast.

Recognizing Retinues within the Mind

The fifth division concerns contemplation-of-mind retinues and has six kinds: first the mind of craving love, second the mind of views, and four more corresponding to contemplation in the four teachings.

In retinues of the mind of craving love, ignorance is father and deluded love mother, producing descendants of afflictions. Because a practitioner craves and imagines, wishing to obtain a particular Dharma-gate in the mind, Māra finds an opening and enters. It is like a person thinking of a seductive woman and being beguiled by a malign being. The practitioner likewise imagines what is partial and deviant and thereby permits something deviant to enter. Through a ghost’s power one may give rise to understanding of a provisional or real Dharma. Once false understanding arises, a demonic guide is born; demonic kindness follows, together with attachment to joy in false Dharma, false six pāramitās and factors of the path, false eloquence, a quick mind, and fluent speech proclaiming different Dharma-gates. These are retinues of the mind of craving love.

As the deviant characteristic becomes sharp, it issues in four kinds of views. The mind of views investigates and calculates, establishing various Dharma-gates. What one sees in one’s own mind is called real; what agrees with others, provisional. Attachment arising in the mind is called the daughter and mental discrimination the son; the six pāramitās cultivated within that mind are factors of the path. These are retinues of the mind of views.

Why are both deviant retinues? Views and love cannot recognize suffering and accumulation within their own mind but falsely call them path and cessation. They also do not understand what is a letter and what is not, like an insect that happens to gnaw a pattern in wood resembling a letter. They accidentally obtain the name of a Dharma-gate without its corresponding meaning. This is love and views.

When one contemplates the mind, one knows that minds of love and views are all dependently arisen dharmas. One first contemplates their impermanent arising and cessation; four further sets of contemplation-of-mind retinues then follow. As the verse from the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā is summarized here, dependently arisen dharmas are immediately empty, provisional, and middle. Retinues are still explained within each of the four modes of contemplation, their meanings following the preceding patterns.

Among the six contemplations of mind, the first five are judged coarse and the last wondrous. The coarse is then opened to disclose the wondrous. If one does not even recognize one’s minds of love and views as dependently arisen, how can one recognize that dependently arisen mind as empty and provisional? If emptiness and provisionality are not recognized, how can one know that Māra’s realm is immediately the Buddha realm and cultivate the thirty-seven factors without moving away from views? Now contemplate love as Dharma-nature and views without being moved by them, cultivating the thirty-seven factors there. The realms of Māra and views are the Buddha realm; one recognizes a letter within what is not a letter and follows what is not the path through to the Buddha-path. No dharma is then anything but wondrous.

Teaching retinues in phenomena is enough to make those who study only words lower their heads and listen. Teaching Dharma-gate retinues is enough to make those who practice according to teaching yield. Teaching contemplation-of-mind retinues is enough to make contemplative meditators yield. These three Dharma-gates all surpass what such people had previously heard or seen.

Merit and Benefit

Tenth is meritorious benefit. Merit and benefit are in fact one and the same affair, without difference. If they are distinguished, benefit received by oneself is called merit, while benefiting others is called benefit. This topic has four parts: first, why benefit is introduced here; second, benefit within the main teaching; third, benefit within circulation; and fourth, benefit within contemplation of mind.

1. Why Benefit Is Introduced

Nothing the buddhas do ever passes in vain. The Explanatory Treatise says: “The Buddha enters the king samādhi. He first emits light to deliver those who were to be delivered earlier, and afterward emits light to deliver those who were to be delivered later.” This resembles catching fish with a net: the earlier casting makes a catch, and the later casting also makes a catch. Sentient beings who see the Buddha’s light or hear the Dharma never do so fruitlessly. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: “The treasure of Dharma shines universally and rains down sweet dew.” These are the two benefits of body and speech. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra and Sūtra of Questions by Brahmā both say that the Buddha emits light capable of breaking stinginess, anger, and delusion; the details are given in those scriptures.

In the present scripture, the four great disciples received the benefit of the Buddha’s opening the three to reveal the one. The Buddha said that the Tathāgata possesses further immeasurable merits that they could never exhaust by speaking. The great cloud rising in the world represents the benefit of form. Thunder sounding and lightning flashing represent the benefit of supernormal power. Rain falling equally represents the benefit of teaching the Dharma. The various grasses and trees each growing means that all four kinds of retinue receive the seven benefits. The subtlety of benefit therefore follows the subtlety of retinues.

2. Benefit within the Main Teaching

Benefit within the main teaching has three parts: first distant benefit, next proximate benefit, and third benefit in the present text.

Distant Benefit: The Poison Drum and the Heavenly Drum

Distant benefit began when the sixteen princes at the time of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence assisted in transformation and spread the teaching, striking both the poison drum and the heavenly drum. The arising of good can be shallow or deep, while the death of delusion can be slow or swift. From the goodness of humans and gods through the great tree is shallow benefit. From what is most real in the first mind through what is most real in the later mind is deep benefit. From breaking unwholesomeness through breaking dust-and-sand delusion is slow death. From the first breaking of ignorance through the later breaking of ignorance is swift death. Slow and swift death are the power of the poison drum; shallow and deep birth of good are the power of the heavenly drum. The scripture therefore says: “The Dharma king who breaks existence appears in the world and teaches the Dharma according to the desires of sentient beings.” This is the textual and doctrinal meaning of the two drums. The meaning of breaking existence has already been explained.

The Seven Benefits and Guanding’s Private Explanation

The benefit produced by teaching Dharma may first be summarized as seven kinds:

First is benefit to the fruit of recompense in the twenty-five modes of existence, also called the benefit of coolness on the ground. Second is the benefit of opening the causal blossom in the twenty-five modes of existence, also called the benefit of the small grass. Third is the analytical-dharma benefit of the samādhi of the true truth, also called the benefit of the middle grass. Fourth is the benefit of five supernormal powers from the samādhi of the conventional truth, also called the benefit of the upper grass. Fifth is the integral-dharma benefit of the samādhi of the true truth, also called the benefit of the small tree. Sixth is the benefit of six supernormal powers from the samādhi of the conventional truth, also called the benefit of the great tree. Seventh is the benefit of the king samādhi of the Middle Way, also called the benefit of the most real affair.

Those who receive the causal and fruit benefits of the twenty-five modes of existence can become karma-born retinues. Those who receive the analytical and integral benefits of the samādhi of the true truth can become vow-born retinues. Those who receive the benefits of five and six supernormal powers from the samādhi of the conventional truth can become supernormal-power-born retinues. Those who receive the benefit of the king samādhi of the Middle Way can become response-born retinues.

Guanding adds a separate private explanation here. In principle there should be four pairs and eight benefits. They are stated as seven only because the first item is opened into two while the final two are combined. If the final item is opened and the first is combined, there are likewise seven benefits. If both beginning and end are opened, there are eight: the sequential benefit of the Middle Way and the nonsequential benefit of the Middle Way are then listed separately. If both beginning and end are combined, there are six. The remaining combinations can be understood accordingly.

Expanding into Ten Benefits

The seven benefits have now been explained in brief. They may next be expanded into ten: first, benefit of fruit; second, benefit of cause; third, benefit to śrāvakas; fourth, benefit to pratyekabuddhas; fifth, benefit through the six perfections; sixth, benefit in the Shared Teaching; seventh, benefit in the Distinct Teaching; eighth, benefit in the Perfect Teaching; ninth, benefit in transformational birth-and-death; and tenth, benefit in real recompense.

1. Benefit of Fruit

Benefit of fruit is benefit to the fruit of recompense in the twenty-five modes of existence.

There are eight great hells: Avīci, Perception, Black Rope, Crushing Together, Screaming, Great Screaming, Scorching Heat, and Great Scorching Heat. Each great hell has sixteen small hells as its retinue, making a total of 136 places. These principal hells lie twenty thousand yojanas below the earth. Auxiliary hells may be on the earth or between the Iron-Enclosure Mountains. Suffering in the auxiliary hells is lighter, and suffering in the principal hells heavier. Those with the heaviest recompense pass through all 136 places; those of middling recompense do not pass through them all; and those with lighter recompense pass through still fewer. Beings there are constantly pressed by burning suffering. It cannot be described in full, and those who hear of it are terrified. The Sūtra of the Four Liberations calls this the path of fire. Two times—their first entry and their first emergence—permit transformation. When roots of good from former lives have ripened into a corresponding suitability, a noble one goes forth in response. Some are illuminated by light, some receive rain that extinguishes the fires, and some are shown and taught the Dharma by Devadatta or Vasu. They revive from oppressive heat, their bodies become cool, they receive hidden and manifest benefit, and their sufferings cease.

The eight freezing hells, including Apapa and the others, likewise comprise 136 places. Beings there can also receive hidden and manifest benefit so that their bodies become warm and comfortable. This is the benefit of coolness received amid the fruit of hell.

Animals are broadly of three kinds: aquatic, terrestrial, and aerial. Terrestrial animals further have three grades. The heaviest live under the earth and see no light; the middle live in mountains and forests; the lightest are kept by humans. The strong subdue the weak, drinking blood and eating flesh amid innumerable fears. The Sūtra of the Four Liberations calls this the path of blood. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response and frees them from fear, bringing hidden and manifest benefit. This is the benefit of coolness amid the fruit of animal life.

Hungry ghosts may dwell on ocean islets or among the mountains and forests of the human world. Some resemble humans and others beasts. Those with heavy recompense have fires of hunger blazing between their joints and never even hear the name of broth or water. Those of middling recompense seek fluids from pus, blood, excrement, and other filth. Those with lighter recompense occasionally obtain one meager meal, while being driven with knives and clubs to dam seas and fill rivers. The Sūtra of the Four Liberations calls this the path of knives. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response, produces fragrant milk from the hand, and gives it to them until they are full, bringing hidden and manifest benefit. This is the benefit of coolness amid the fruit of hungry-ghost existence.

Asuras may live in caves halfway up Mount Sumeru, beside the great ocean, or on the ocean floor. They constantly resent the gods and dwell in fear. When thunder sounds they take it for the heavenly drum, and rain from dragons turns into swords. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response and subdues them with gentle speech, bringing hidden and manifest benefit. This is the benefit of coolness amid the fruit of asura existence.

Although humans in the four continents possess better and worse recompense, all undergo birth, aging, illness, and death and share the lighter recompense of a hell. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response, enabling them to leave what they seek to leave and obtain what they seek, bringing hidden and manifest benefit.

Among the six desire heavens, the earth-dwelling gods separately suffer warfare with the asuras, while all six share the five signs of decline, the marks of death, and other hell-like sufferings. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response and brings hidden and manifest benefit.

The gods of the four dhyānas, Brahmā kings, the Heaven without Perception, the nonreturners’ heavens, and the other form-realm heavens do not suffer as beings in the lower realms do, yet they remain confined by form. At death, if they do not delight in entering dhyāna, wind contacts and blows upon the body. Apart from eye-consciousness, all the other consciousnesses then undergo suffering. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response and brings hidden and manifest benefit.

Although the gods of the four formless attainments do not undergo the sufferings of the desire and form realms, subtle afflictions remain like sores, tumors, delusion, or arrows entering the body. When roots of good from former lives can activate suitability, a noble one goes forth in response and brings hidden and manifest benefit.

Taken together, these benefits of coolness arise through the power of wholesome roots of kindness in ordinary and noble beings. Distinguished in detail, they originate when a bodhisattva first contemplates the evils to be prevented within the twenty-five modes of existence and gives rise to compassion, contemplates the good that can prevent those evils and gives rise to kindness, and perfumes the king samādhi with this kindness and compassion. Not abandoning sentient beings, the bodhisattva goes forth to correspond to their suitability and brings them benefit. This is broadly the first of the ten accounts implied when the “Great Scripture” speaks of the twenty-five samādhis breaking the twenty-five modes of existence.

2. Benefit of Cause

The second account concerns benefit to causes cultivated within the twenty-five modes of existence. The causes and fruits of self and other can each be raised from one convenient side according to the meaning, making the explanation easier. In the preceding benefit to the fruit of recompense, places and times of recompense differ; all benefits cannot be discussed in a single body, so they are easier to display through many people in many places. A single person’s mind, however, can produce immeasurable karma. The causal benefit of the twenty-five modes of existence is therefore explained through one person.

What is benefit of cause? Four causes can be destroyed and twenty-one causes accomplished. It can also be said that one cause is destroyed, one cause accomplished, and the remaining twenty-three causes both accomplished and destroyed.

If a person has no discipline to restrain the self and lets body and speech create karma for the four destinies, that person is called a hell person. If that person abandons evil and maintains discipline, the person is called a human or god. Yet if the prohibitions are severe and rigid, the person may waver and retreat when conditions arise, and evil karma will return. One may commit the four grave offenses and five heinous offenses or burn and destroy stūpas and monasteries. When such a mind arises, evil appears and discipline disappears; once this karma ripens, one necessarily falls into an evil destiny. If one wishes to leave this mind and accomplish discipline and goodness, there is a capacity whose suitability can be activated, drawing the Stainless Samādhi to go forth in response. The evil mind suddenly breaks open, the cause of hell ceases, and hidden and manifest benefit is received. Even when people today enter a place of practice to repent, if the evil mind does not turn, evil karma is not destroyed. If evil karma is not destroyed, the binding rope is not severed and the offense cannot be extinguished.

If a person is stingy, greedy, and flattering, hunts after reputation, lacks genuine virtue within, yet wants others to praise them, this evil arises and discipline is suppressed, leading to hungry-ghost existence. If one lacks shame and conscience, fails to repay debts, has no reverence, and is proud, angry, greedy, and gluttonous, this evil arises and discipline is suppressed, leading to animal existence. If one envies the worthy and capable, cultivates merit in order to defeat others, harbors a maggot-like poisonous mind, uses skillful devices to bring others down, and terrifies them, this evil arises and discipline is suppressed, creating asura karma. If one wishes to leave these three evil minds and accomplish disciplined goodness, good possesses a suitability that can be activated, and the noble function goes forth in response. The evil mind suddenly breaks open and disciplined goodness becomes complete. This is called the destruction of causes for the four destinies and the accomplishment of causes for humans and gods, bringing hidden and manifest benefit. This explanation is made in terms of cultivating causes in the human destiny.

Viewed in terms of the various destinies, wishing to leave hell and enter animal existence, leave animal existence and enter hungry-ghost existence, leave hungry-ghost existence and enter asura existence, or leave asura existence and enter the human path each has a cause transmitted from one stage to the next. When the cause is accomplished, karma turns. The remaining cases can be understood accordingly.

Firmly maintaining the five precepts, practicing humaneness and righteousness, being filial toward one’s parents, and possessing trust, reverence, shame, and conscience constitute human karma. Human karma has four grades: upper, middle, lower, and lowest. Viewed from fruit as recompense, Jambudvīpa is the lowest; viewed from entry into the path, Uttarakuru is the lowest. At times a wholesome mind fades while evil thoughts alone become strong. Good can still be accomplished and evil extinguished, so a stimulus of suitability exists and the noble function goes forth in response. Causes for the four evil destinies are destroyed, the four grades of human goodness are accomplished, and hidden and manifest benefit is received.

When the ten wholesome acts are maintained spontaneously without interruption and the wholesome mind matures, this is heavenly karma. Hence it is said that a purely evil mind without an intervening wholesome thought is karma for the evil destinies, because its fruit is pure suffering. Alternating wholesome and evil thoughts are human karma, because human recompense mixes suffering and happiness. The ten wholesome acts accomplished spontaneously are heavenly karma, because heavenly recompense occurs naturally.

There are further distinctions within the cultivation of the ten wholesome acts. When accompanied by a mind that protects the Dharma, they form the karma of the Four Great Kings. When accompanied by kindness that transforms others, they form the karma of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. When the mind becomes subtler and matures spontaneously, never harming sentient beings while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down and continuing goodness skillfully and without interruption, they form the karma of the Yāma Heaven. When the ten wholesome acts are joined to dhyāna, gather the mind, and attain coarse and fine abiding, they form the karma of Tuṣita Heaven. Desire-realm concentration is the karma of the Heaven of Delighting in Transformations. Access concentration that breaks phenomenal obstruction is the karma of the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations. The four dhyānas form karma of the form realm. When joined to kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity and concentration is attained among the associated mental factors, they form the karma of a Brahmā king. Extinguishing mind and cultivating the concentration without mind form the karma of the Heaven without Perception.

Someone asks: The Heaven without Perception is a heaven of wrong views. How can it become a capacity that provides a stimulus?

The answer is that the Great Collection Sūtra says: “Bodhisattvas train sentient beings in many ways, deviant or correct. They practice what is not the path and penetrate the buddha path.”

An older explanation says that a noble one places one portion of contaminated practice between two portions of the uncontaminated and perfumes it until it becomes uncontaminated. The present explanation instead says that the nine successive concentrations perfume contaminated practice into the uncontaminated; this forms the karma of a nonreturner. The four formless concentrations form karma of the formless realm.

Beings in these twenty-one modes of existence are repelled by the coarse suffering of their own plane and wish to cultivate escape, but cannot obtain what they seek or leave what they wish to abandon. At that moment, they are called capacities whose suitability can be activated. They draw the compassionate power of the twenty-one samādhis, which breaks their cultivated causes, enables them to leave what they wish to leave and accomplish what they seek, removes suffering and gives happiness, and brings hidden and manifest benefit. This is what the scripture means when it says: “The small grasses, small roots, small stems, small branches, and small leaves all obtain growth.”

Taken together, this arises through the power of wholesome roots of kindness in ordinary and noble beings. Distinguished in detail, it originates when a bodhisattva first maintains the 250 precepts, cultivates the root dhyānas and the others, and gives rise to kindness and compassion within every good dharma capable of preventing evil. The original vow of kindness and compassion perfumes the king samādhi. Not abandoning sentient beings, the bodhisattva goes forth to their suitability so each receives benefit. This is broadly the second of the ten accounts implied when the “Great Scripture” speaks of the twenty-five samādhis breaking the twenty-five modes of existence.

3. Benefit to Śrāvakas

The third account is benefit to śrāvakas. A person becomes weary of birth and death, receiving birth after death and returning to death after birth, exhausting the spirit in an endless round. Desire conceals the person, like a shaggy ox protecting its tail, so liberation cannot be gained. It is therefore said that when a person meets suffering and becomes weary of aging, illness, and death, nirvāṇa is taught so that every limit of suffering can be exhausted. Once revulsion has been inwardly resolved and the aspiration for escape firmly set, the person cultivates the śrāvaka path for this purpose.

While discipline is being maintained, the rākṣasas of affective attachment and views may damage the flotation bladder and make discipline impure. Because discipline is impure, samādhi does not appear. Without discipline and concentration, the uncontaminated cannot arise. The person therefore single-mindedly cultivates discipline, concentration, and wisdom, forming a capacity whose suitability can be activated and drawing the power of the four samādhis, including the Stainless, to empower the practice. Karma of the four destinies ceases to arise and discipline becomes pure.

When concentration and wisdom are cultivated evenly, wisdom with concentration is not mad and concentration with wisdom is not foolish. This is called worthiness, and worthiness means being near the noble. Cultivating such concentration and wisdom, the person strives single-mindedly as urgently as if extinguishing a fire on the head and longs for dhyāna and wisdom like a thirsty person longing for drink. Yet the twenty-one kinds of contaminated karma disturb the practice. If the power of the samādhis empowers the person, concentration arises, contemplation becomes clear, the four wholesome roots are accomplished, and the path of suppression fully matures. In one instant a turn occurs, true realization arises, and the person becomes a stream-enterer, breaking the afflictions seen by the truth and the eighty-eight compulsions within the twenty-five modes of existence.

This is the common empowerment of the twenty-five samādhis, enabling one to sever delusions seen by the truth and also remove four delusions of thought. Hence it is said that the sixteenth mind enters the path of cultivation. Next, upon entering the path of cultivation, one who leaps over stages at once uses the power of ten samādhis to break the thought-delusions of the five lower fetters. A person of dull faculties severs thought-delusion part by part and receives the empowerment of samādhi part by part, finally exhausting the delusions of the three realms and completing the benefit of the samādhi of the true truth. This is benefit to the middle grass.

Taken together, this arises through the power of wholesome roots of kindness in ordinary and noble beings. Distinguished in detail, it arises from original kindness and compassion: one first contemplates the goodness that analyzes emptiness and extinguishes form within the ten Dharma realms, gives rise to a great vow, and perfumes the king samādhi. Not abandoning sentient beings, one brings the benefit of the middle grass. This is broadly the third of the ten accounts implied when the “Great Scripture” speaks of the twenty-five samādhis breaking the twenty-five modes of existence.

4. Benefit to Pratyekabuddhas

The fourth account is benefit to pratyekabuddhas. A person whose former good is deep and sharp becomes weary of birth and death in an age without a buddha, delights in solitary quietude, and deeply contemplates causes and conditions. The scripture says: “One who has made offerings to buddhas and aspires to a superior Dharma is taught the pratyekabuddha path.” Such a person has great merit capable of activating suitability. A noble one goes forth in response, causing blossoms to fly and bangles to move, and the person receives hidden and manifest benefit and awakens to the pratyekabuddha path. This still belongs to the benefit of the middle grass.

5. Benefit through the Six Perfections

The fifth account concerns bodhisattvas of the six perfections. They contemplate the four truths and practice the six perfections.

When practicing giving, people may ask for one’s head, eyes, kingdom, city, wife, or children. The mind may waver, preventing the perfection of giving from being accomplished. Knowing this to be evil and wishing to accomplish the goodness of giving, the practitioner forms a capacity whose suitability can be activated. Empowered by samādhi, the obstruction of stinginess is suppressed; this breaks hungry-ghost existence. Once the obstructing mind has gone, the practitioner gives joyfully as if drinking sweet dew and knows that conditioned dharmas are frail, perilous, and impermanent. This is the hidden and manifest benefit received through the Mind-Joy Samādhi.

When discipline is accomplished, it suppresses the obstruction that destroys discipline, breaks hell existence, and brings the benefit of the Stainless Samādhi. When patience is accomplished, it suppresses the obstruction of anger, breaks animal existence, and brings the benefit of the Nonretrogression Samādhi. When dhyāna is accomplished, it suppresses the obstruction of distraction, breaks human existence, and brings the benefit of four samādhis. When vigor is accomplished, it suppresses the obstruction of laziness, breaks asura existence, and brings the benefit of the Gladness Samādhi. When wisdom is accomplished, it suppresses the obstruction of delusion, breaks heavenly existence, and brings the benefit of seventeen samādhis.

The six obstructions are karma of the six destinies and are explained in detail in the Bodhisattva Discipline Manual. Because karma of the six destinies is suppressed, the practitioner is no longer troubled by the obstructions, obtains the five supernormal powers, travels through the six destinies, and accomplishes the practice of the six perfections. This is the benefit of the upper grass. The generally shared response is as explained above. Distinguished in detail, it arises when one originally contemplated good and evil among the phenomena of the ten Dharma realms, gave rise to a great vow, perfumed the three samādhis, and did not abandon sentient beings.

6. Benefit in the Shared Teaching

The sixth account is benefit received by practitioners of the Shared Teaching, those who cultivate in common among the three vehicles. At the dry-wisdom ground, nature ground, ground of eight persons, and ground of seeing, they receive benefit through the twenty-five samādhis. From the ground of diminishing onward through the tenth ground, the twenty-one samādhis empower them to break delusions of thought and begin removing ignorance of particulars. This is called the benefit of the small tree. Kindness and compassion in their general and particular forms can be understood as above.

7. Benefit in the Distinct Teaching

The seventh account is benefit received by practitioners of the Distinct Teaching. Binding conditions to the Dharma realm in a sequential mind, they enter the ten abodes through one thought of the Dharma realm and receive the benefit of the samādhi of the true truth; enter the ten practices and ten dedications and receive the benefit of the samādhi of the conventional truth; and enter the ten grounds and receive the benefit of the samādhi of the truth of the middle. This is the benefit of the great tree. General and particular kindness and compassion can be understood as above.

8. Benefit in the Perfect Teaching

The eighth account is benefit received by practitioners of the Perfect Teaching. They cultivate the one real principle of the three truths, binding conditions to the Dharma realm within one thought of the Dharma realm. When they pass through conditions and face objects, every lifting and lowering of the foot is a place of awakening. Their every thought corresponds to the perfections as they cultivate the four samādhis and contemplate the ten kinds of object. When suitability can be activated, a noble one goes forth in response and they suddenly awaken. Whether resemblance or truth is attained, they receive hidden and manifest benefit. This is the Perfect Teaching’s perfect use of the twenty-five samādhis to empower them, break the twenty-five modes of existence, reveal true-self nature, and bring the ultimate benefit of the most real affair.

9. Benefit in Transformational Birth-and-Death

The ninth account is benefit in transformational birth-and-death, the benefit received by people in the Land of Expedient Means with Remainder. Among the first eight accounts are four places, or counted more fully nine: śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching, practitioners in the thirty minds of the Distinct Teaching, and practitioners with resemblance-understanding in the Perfect Teaching. These people have broken only views and thought and have not removed ignorance. Ignorance moistens the uncontaminated so that they undergo birth in the Land of Expedient Means. The later passage therefore says: “I become a buddha in another land and have a different name. In that land they seek the Buddha’s wisdom and hear this scripture.” This is their entry into the One Vehicle in that land.

The Śrīmālā Sūtra says: “Three kinds of person are born in the land of transformational birth-and-death: powerful arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas.” The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra speaks of three kinds of mind-made body. First is the mind-made body of the blissful Dharma, which represents the intent of people of the two vehicles to enter nirvāṇa and attain bliss. Second is the samādhi mind-made body, which represents the intent of the Shared Teaching to emerge into provisional existence, transform beings, and use supernormal-power samādhi. Third is the self-nature mind-made body, which represents the intent of the Distinct Teaching to cultivate the self-nature of the middle way.

In the general term “mind,” bliss is the intent to make emptiness, samādhi is the intent to make provisional existence, and self-nature is the intent to make the middle. Practitioners with resemblance-understanding in the Distinct and Perfect Teachings have not yet produced true realization and are therefore all said to act through intent. Hence a treatise says: “At that time one passes beyond the ground of intent and abides in the activity of wisdom.” Only when true realization has arisen can this be the activity of wisdom; before true realization arises, one still remains on the ground of intent.

When these people are born in that land, those who analyze dharmas are duller and those who comprehend them in their integrity are sharper. Practitioners of the Distinct Teaching have already cultivated provisional contemplation and are somewhat sharper; practitioners of the Perfect Teaching previously understood the immediate middle and are sharpest. Because sharp and dull differ, their cultivation in that land produces sequential and nonsequential benefits, with sequential and nonsequential uses of the twenty-five samādhis in response. Thus nine kinds of person are born in the Land of Expedient Means, begin there to see true-self nature within the modes of existence, and receive the benefit of the most real affair.

When distinguished, the Land of Expedient Means lies beyond the three realms. When phenomena are immediately true, it need not be far away. A later passage says: “If one can deeply trust and understand, one thereby sees the Buddha constantly present on Vulture Peak, surrounded by great bodhisattvas and the assembly of śrāvaka monks, teaching the Dharma.” This is the meaning of the Land of Expedient Means.

10. Benefit in Real Recompense

The tenth account is benefit in the Land of Real Recompense, the benefit received by people in that land. In the eighth account, two kinds of person are born in the Land of Expedient Means; another two kinds have completely broken ignorance and seen the true mark, and only then are born in the Land of Real Recompense. Yet ignorance has very many layers. Although the three worthy and ten noble ones dwell in Real Recompense, their recompense is not exhausted and residual delusions remain. They must further receive forty-one rounds of benefit from the king samādhi. At wondrous awakening, they exhaust vertically and pervade horizontally and are neither born nor destroyed. Because ignorance is forever exhausted and wisdom perfectly complete, this is called neither birth nor death. Because stimulus and response are also fulfilled and benefit consummated, it is likewise called neither birth nor death.

When distinguished, the Land of Real Recompense lies beyond the Land of Expedient Means. When phenomena are immediately true, it too is not far away. The scripture says: “One sees the Sahā world with lapis lazuli as its ground, level and even, with terraces, towers, and observatories made of precious things and bodhisattvas alone dwelling throughout.” This is the meaning of the Land of Real Recompense.

Gathering the Ten Benefits and Three Rounds of Questions and Answers

Whether capacities are coarse or wondrous, responses Distinct or Perfect, lands pure or impure, and benefits shallow or deep, none lies outside these ten accounts. The ten embrace the Dharma realm, and the range of benefit has now been treated in outline. The main meaning can be understood without further prolixity. Thus, at the time of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence, the poison drum diminished delusion and birth-and-death; hearing occurred at distant and proximate times, and death was slow or swift. The heavenly drum increased the path; hearing likewise occurred at distant and proximate times. Benefit was therefore deep or shallow and produced benefits for karma-born, supernormal-power-born, vow-born, and response-born retinues.

Someone asks: If the first account has already broken the twenty-five modes of existence and brought benefit, nothing remains to be broken and no further benefit remains to discuss. Why must the explanation continue through the tenth account?

The answer is this. First, the suffering of fruit as recompense in the twenty-five modes of existence is broken and the benefit of recompense obtained. Next, the suffering of causes in those modes is broken and benefit to cultivated causes obtained. Next, the suffering of views and thought within the twenty-five modes is broken and the benefit of the samādhi of the true truth obtained. Next, emptiness within the twenty-five modes is broken, enabling emergence from emptiness into provisional existence and bringing the benefit of the samādhi of the conventional truth. Next, the two extremes of existence and emptiness within the twenty-five modes are broken, revealing the benefit of the king samādhi of the Middle Way. Next, the Land of Expedient Means with Remainder is broken; one emerges from the twenty-five provisional existences and obtains the two benefits of the conventional and king samādhis. Next, the Land of Real Recompense is broken, only revealing the benefit of the king samādhi more deeply. As long as the three truths are not yet completely clear, the meaning of benefit does not cease. This is why there are ten accounts.

Someone next asks: Do the three truths belong only to the ultimate ground, or do they also extend to ordinary beings?

The answer is as follows. The Large Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra says: “The form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness of sentient beings.” It also says: “Unequaled form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.” The Sūtra for Humane Kings says: “Dharma-nature form and Dharma-nature feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.” The “Great Scripture” says: “Because the cause of this form is extinguished, constant form is attained; so too for feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.” Thus, from ordinary to noble, all are existence; this is the conventional truth.

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: “The suchness of sentient beings, the suchness of Maitreya, and the suchness of worthy and noble ones are one suchness, not two suchnesses.” The Large Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra says: “Form is empty; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are empty. If there were any dharma beyond nirvāṇa, it too would be like illusion and transformation.” Thus ordinary and noble are all empty; this is the true truth.

The “Great Scripture” says: “Is there a self within the twenty-five modes of existence? The answer is that there is a self. Self is buddha-nature, and buddha-nature is the middle way. Among dharmas born through causes and conditions, not one color or one fragrance is outside the middle way.” Thus, from ordinary to noble, all are the middle way, the truth of the first meaning.

Someone further asks: In discussing distant benefit, many passages from the scripture remain available. The first says, “From distant kalpas I have praised and shown the path of nirvāṇa, forever exhausting the suffering of birth and death; I have always spoken in this way.” The second says, “In the past, in the presence of two trillion buddhas, I taught the unsurpassed path.” The third says, “The causes and conditions from former lives I will now explain.” Which passage should be taken as the definite basis?

The answer is this. The first passage says only “from distant kalpas.” The word “distant” is indeed remote and vast, but it does not yet reveal the original ground and may refer only to an intervening time. The second passage says only “formerly, in the presence of two trillion buddhas.” It gives no number of kalpas, so its distance is hard to know; compared with the later passage, it seems quite near. The present discussion of distant benefit therefore takes the explicit passage following the third: “Grind the earth of a three-thousandfold world into ink, travel eastward through one thousand worlds before placing one dot, grind into dust all the worlds that were dotted and not dotted, count one kalpa for each particle of dust, and then pass immeasurable, boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of asaṃkhya kalpas beyond that number.” In light of this explicit passage, the time of the two trillion buddhas was only yesterday.

From the time of that buddha onward began the connection of the Great Vehicle. That buddha taught the scripture for eight thousand kalpas, and the sixteen princes repeated its teaching for eighty-four thousand kalpas. The scriptural and exegetical teaching was extensive and the time profound. Some listeners may have awakened in their seats, some may have been transformed in the intervening time, and some may have ripened only recently. They all finally reached the place of treasure, received Dharma-nature bodies, and became response-born retinues. Inwardly concealing their true virtue and outwardly manifesting various identities, they matured sentient beings together and performed buddha affairs. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: “Though they have attained the path and turned the Dharma wheel, they still practice the bodhisattva path.” This is the meaning.

Among those who listened at that time but did not receive real benefit, some received benefit of resemblance and did not forget across another birth. Those who received only benefit of names or contemplative practice forgot across another birth, though some did not. If those who forgot met a good spiritual friend, their former good arose again; if they met a bad friend, they lost the original mind and therefore needed many kinds of treatment in the intervening time. Some were ripened principally through the Great Vehicle, others principally through the Small Vehicle. Those born in the Land of Expedient Means heard various paths, yet these were in reality all for the One Vehicle. They too were brought to the place of treasure, received Dharma-nature bodies, and obtained the ninth and tenth real benefits in that land. The bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds belong to this stream. Those who had already reached consummation earlier are called recipients of distant benefit. Sentient beings among them who remain on the śrāvaka ground today receive the further discussion of proximate benefit that follows.

The lower half of fascicle six of the Fahua Xuanyi ends here. What follows is the first half of fascicle seven, still headed “Taught by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai.”

Proximate Benefit

Proximate benefit begins at the place of quiescent extinction. As soon as the Buddha first completed awakening, he turned the Dharma wheel and struck the poison drum and heavenly drum, benefiting sentient beings through the period before the Lotus Sutra. The benefits still had shallow and deep levels, while death still occurred slowly or swiftly. Why? The teaching is originally addressed to conditions. Conditions are broadly of four kinds, the teachings likewise four, and the masters of the teachings likewise four. All are called Dharma kings and all possess the king samādhi. They themselves break the twenty-five modes of existence and benefit sentient beings through the seven benefits, just as explained above.

Great and Small Vehicle scriptures further say that the Buddha enters the king samādhi, emits light, and teaches Dharma so that beings undergoing suffering as fruit in wholesome and evil destinies receive benefit. The Āgamas, for example, say that beings see the Buddha’s radiance and receive the Buddha’s touch, whereupon all the sufferings of the six destinies are healed. The Large Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra also says that the Buddha emits light upon hell beings, immediately removing their suffering and causing them to be born as high as the sixth heaven. Removal of suffering is benefit of fruit, while heavenly birth is benefit of cause. The Large Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra calls these benefits of blossoms and leaves.

When the Buddha emits light, places of darkness likewise become completely bright. Beings there each think: “How have sentient beings suddenly appeared here?” This too is benefit of fruit. Buddhas who serve as masters of all four teachings can give these benefits of cause and fruit.

When benefits are distinguished, they differ in depth. Śrāvakas sever the principal compulsions, while pratyekabuddhas further wear away habitual tendencies; both are called the middle grass. Bodhisattvas suppress delusion and also deliver sentient beings. Hence the scripture says: “Seeking the place of the World-Honored One, I shall become a buddha and practice vigor and concentration.” This is called benefit to the upper grass and is the character of benefit arising through the Tripiṭaka Teaching master’s power of wholesome roots of kindness.

The scripture says: “If bodhisattvas possess firm wisdom, comprehend the three realms, and seek the highest vehicle.” These three kinds of person contemplate non-arising together. Beyond the preceding benefit of analytical wisdom, they possess a separate skillful means of deliverance that comprehends truth in its integrity. This is called the growth-benefit of the small tree and is the character of benefit bestowed by the master of the Shared Teaching.

The scripture says: “There are also those who abide in dhyāna, obtain supernormal power, hear that all dharmas are empty, and rejoice greatly in mind.” Abiding in dhyāna means abiding in the nine great dhyānas. Great rejoicing in mind means ascending to the ground of joy and delivering countless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of sentient beings; this is called the growth of the great tree. Beyond the preceding benefits of analytical and integral approaches to cause and fruit, they separately obtain discriminative wisdom of paths through the knowledge of all modes. This is the character of benefit bestowed by the master of the Distinct Teaching.

The scripture says: “I will now teach you the most real affair.” This does not merely include the preceding benefits; it immediately breaks ignorance, reveals buddha-nature, and brings ultimate real benefit. This is the character of benefit bestowed by the master of the Perfect Teaching.

The benefits of the first three teachings are such that the inferior cannot include the superior, while the superior can include the inferior. The meaning can be understood.

Explained through the five flavors, the milk teaching has only four benefits: cause, fruit, the great tree, and the real affair. It does not teach the three grasses and one tree because Great Vehicle scriptures did not enter the hands of people of the two vehicles, who were like the deaf and mute. The curds teaching has only the four benefits of the three grasses and the others. Raw ghee possesses all seven benefits. Refined ghee lacks the three grasses that analyze dharmas but possesses the seven benefits that comprehend dharmas in their integrity and the others. Clarified essence has only the benefit of the real affair. All preceding benefits are coarse; the present benefit is wondrous.

From the place of quiescent extinction through the Lotus Sutra, embodied bodhisattvas receive only the first eight accounts and do not receive the ninth and tenth. There is another sense in which benefit is obtained: bodhisattvas come from Dharma-nature bodies into limited bodies, become vow-born, supernormal-power-born, response-born, and other retinues, proceed to break ignorance, and sever residual grades. In this sense, they can also be said to receive the ninth and tenth benefits. Thus the ten benefits are taught in outline from the place of quiescent extinction through the Lotus Sutra.

Someone asks: When a Dharma-body bodhisattva hears a responsive-body buddha teach Dharma and receives benefit within the responsive body, does the Dharma-body also receive benefit?

The answer is: It is like polishing a mirror. As the mirror becomes brighter, the reflected forms also become bright.

Someone asks again: If the responsive body hears Dharma and benefits and the Dharma-body also benefits, then when the responsive body manifests illness, does the Dharma-body also become ill?

The answer is: If this illness were real, the responsive body’s illness would mean that the Dharma-body was also ill. The responsive body manifests illness only because the illness is not real. Since it is not real, the responsive body is without illness and the Dharma-body is likewise without illness. Furthermore, if the responsive body manifests illness only narrowly, one should know that benefit to the Dharma-body is likewise narrow. If the responsive body can manifest illness broadly, benefit to the Dharma-body is likewise broad.

The cases can now be analyzed through several sets of propositions. First: fruit benefits while cause does not; cause benefits while fruit does not; both benefit; or neither benefits. These can be understood through present examples.

Second: there is benefit through destruction, benefit through accomplishment, benefit through both destruction and accomplishment, and benefit through neither destruction nor accomplishment. Benefit through neither destruction nor accomplishment is the benefit of coolness. Causes for the four destinies receive benefit through destruction. The cause of neither perception nor nonperception receives benefit through accomplishment. The causes between them receive benefit through both accomplishment and destruction.

Third: in some cases, benefit of cause is itself benefit of fruit and benefit of fruit is itself benefit of cause. This is the meaning of the cause shifting and the fruit changing in transformational birth-and-death. In other cases, benefit of cause is not an increase of the path and benefit of fruit is not a diminution of birth; when attained they are benefits of cause and fruit, and when not attained they are still benefits of cause and fruit. These are the recompense-causes and recompense-fruits of limited birth. In still other cases, benefit of cause is increase of the path and benefit of fruit is diminution of birth; when not attained they are not benefits of cause and fruit, and when attained they are benefits of cause and fruit. These are habituated cause and habituated fruit.

Fourth: true benefit without conventional benefit belongs to the two vehicles. Conventional benefit without true benefit belongs to bodhisattvas of the six perfections. Conventional benefit first and true benefit later likewise belongs to bodhisattvas of the six perfections. True benefit first and conventional benefit later belongs to bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching. True and conventional benefits without benefit of the middle, and benefit of the middle that is not true or conventional benefit, belong to the Distinct Teaching. True benefit that is itself conventional benefit and also itself the benefit of the Middle Way belongs to the Perfect Teaching.

Benefit in the Present Text

Third is benefit in the present text. The present scripture fully possesses the seven benefits. Although they differ, they are immediately without difference. Sprouts, stems, branches, and leaves grow differently but arise from the same ground. The seven benefits truly have shallow and deep levels, yet none is outside the true mark. They are therefore said to be differentiated and undifferentiated. The differentiated coarse benefits of the various scriptures all enter the present scripture’s undifferentiated wondrous benefit. Some advance and enter the various wondrous benefits; others remain in their stage and become wondrous benefits.

In the benefit of advancing and entering, what was originally coolness on the ground now advances to engender the Great Vehicle, and the mind of understanding becomes bright and pure. One may advance into the subtlety of contemplative practice, resemblance, or partial realization. What was originally the causal benefit of humans and gods now enters resemblance and partial realization. What was originally benefit to trainees and adepts of the Small Vehicle now advances to break ignorance and receives the wondrous benefit of partial realization, like an echo entering a horn and turning from small to great. Advancement and entry in the Shared and Distinct Teachings can be understood accordingly.

In benefit through remaining in one’s stage, what was originally coarse fruit—coolness on the ground—becomes the benefit of wondrous principle in its own place. Remaining with coarse causal benefit becomes the benefit of the subtlety of contemplative practice. Remaining with the coarse benefit of trainees and adepts becomes the wondrous benefit of resemblance. Opening the coarse is itself the wondrous, and no separate advance and entry is required. The Shared and Distinct Teachings can be understood accordingly.

Advancing and entering wondrous benefit is relational wondrousness revealed in relation to coarse benefit. Benefit through remaining in one’s stage is absolute wondrousness.

When retinues are classified according to the various coarse benefits, the two benefits of fruit and cause can form karma-born retinues. The middle and upper grasses, small tree, and the others can form vow-born and supernormal-power-born retinues. From the great tree’s vision of nature onward, all are included among response-born retinues. When retinues are classified according to advancement and remaining in one’s stage, wondrous principle, provisional names, and the subtlety of contemplative practice can form karma-born retinues. Wondrous resemblance can form vow-born and supernormal-power-born retinues. Partial realization can form response-born retinues. This is the character of benefit in the present scripture.

3. Benefit within Circulation

Benefit within circulation has three parts: first, the teachers; second, the methods; and third, the benefits.

The Teachers

Those who circulate the scripture include both ordinary and noble persons. Dharma-body bodhisattvas are adorned by vows and can bring sentient beings in this land, other lands, lower lands, and upper lands the seven, nine, and ten provisional and real benefits. The merit of transformation returns to them, sustaining the Dharma-body and increasing the path while diminishing birth. Embodied bodhisattvas can also circulate the scripture in this and other lands, enabling others to receive the seven provisional and real benefits. The merit of transformation returns to them and increases the path while diminishing birth, but they cannot benefit upper lands. Ordinary teachers can likewise circulate the scripture in this land, enabling others to receive the seven provisional and real benefits. The merit of transformation returns to them and increases their own grade and stage.

The Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings therefore says: “An ill guide remains on this shore yet prepares a boat and raft and ferries others to the other shore.” This is the meaning.

Someone asks: Can an ordinary person circulate the scripture only for ordinary people and cause only ordinary people to benefit, or can an ordinary person also cause noble ones to benefit?

The answer is: There are two kinds of noble one—noble ones of the Small Vehicle and noble ones of the Great Vehicle. The scripture says: “If one has truly attained arhatship but conceives that one has entered extinction, then upon encountering another buddha one comes to resolution.” Master Nanyue says that a teacher of the first reliance is called “another buddha.” Because ignorance is not yet broken, such a teacher is called “other”; because the teacher can know the Tathāgata’s secret treasury and deeply awaken to perfect principle, the teacher is called “buddha.”

After the Buddha’s extinction, a person who has truly attained arhatship may not yet understand provisional and real. Upon meeting a teacher of the first reliance, that person can come to resolution, accomplish the benefit of resemblance, and advance into the benefit of partial realization. This passage can therefore serve as supporting evidence that an ordinary teacher can circulate the scripture for noble ones of the Small Vehicle and cause them to benefit.

The scripture also says: “When a person whose six faculties are purified teaches the Dharma, the buddhas of the ten directions all delight in seeing that person and all face the place where that person dwells as they teach Dharma; all gods and dragons who hear what that person teaches rejoice greatly.” This is explicit textual evidence that an ordinary teacher can teach Dharma to great noble ones.

The Methods

Second are the methods for circulating the scripture, explained through the words of noble ones. The scripture says: “If sentient beings do not trust and accept, then within other profound Dharmas one should show, teach, benefit, and delight them.” “Other” means accompanied by skillful means; “profound” means revealing the Middle Way. Revealing the Middle Way while accompanied by skillful means is the Distinct Teaching. Skillful means alone, without revealing the Middle Way, belongs to the Shared, Tripiṭaka, and other teachings. The scripture permits use of the Distinct Teaching to assist the Perfect Teaching; by analogy, the Shared Teaching should likewise be usable to assist the Perfect Teaching.

Another passage says: “Use still other skillful means to help reveal the first meaning.” How could this exclude the Tripiṭaka and Shared Teachings? A bodhisattva has already obtained real wisdom and also understands the intention of the provisional. The bodhisattva neither confuses the real with the provisional nor calls the provisional real. Yet when the real Dharma is being circulated and sentient beings do not trust it, the provisional must be applied for the sake of the real, using the shallow to assist the profound without falsehood. This is circulating the scripture through the joint use of provisional and real.

The “Peaceful Practices” chapter says: “If difficult questions are asked, do not answer with a Small Vehicle Dharma. Explain only through the Great Vehicle and cause the questioner to attain the knowledge of all modes.” This permits only the real to be used in circulating the scripture. Yet it also says: “Teach according to what is suitable,” which does not exclude the provisional.

People who teach Dharma today may use only the Great Vehicle or only the Small Vehicle; neither understands the Buddha’s intent. One who circulates the scripture well uses methods appropriate to the time. Though the mouth teaches the provisional, the inward mind does not depart from the real Dharma. When sentient beings receive the seven provisional and real benefits, the circulation of the scripture is fulfilled.

The Benefits

Third are the benefits. Benefit within circulation does not have to wait until the scripture’s third, circulation division. The main teaching already points to the benefits of circulating the scripture in the future.

After “The Parable” chapter, at the end of the “Bestowal of Predictions” chapter, and within “The Dharma Teacher” chapter, the scripture teaches the meritorious benefits of circulating it. One who hears a single verse after the Tathāgata’s extinction receives a prediction of unsurpassed complete awakening; how much more one who circulates and proclaims it. One who secretly teaches even a single person already has great merit; how much more one who teaches broadly in an assembly. The sympathetic-joy merit of even the fiftieth person in the chain of transmission is beyond the sphere of the two vehicles; how much more that of a person who first hears and rejoices in the assembly. Never Disparaging circulated even a single sentence and obtained purification of the six faculties; how much more one who circulates the scripture in full.

Even the merit of a disciple of the first grade who circulates the scripture cannot be compared with practicing the five perfections for immeasurable koṭis of kalpas. How much more is this true of the fifth grade, whose merit is like the space of the ten directions—how could it have a boundary? The merit of those in the five grades who circulate the scripture cannot be exhausted. All are said to “enter the Tathāgata’s room, wear the Tathāgata’s robe, and sit on the Tathāgata’s seat.” All the Tathāgata’s Dharmas transcend number. How then could the eighty thousand great beings and bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds be fully spoken or fully known? No one but the Tathāgata can know them exhaustively.

An ordinary teacher who circulates the scripture can bring the seven benefits to ordinary people. The scripture says: “This scripture is good medicine for the illnesses of the people of Jambudvīpa. If one hears this scripture, one neither ages nor dies.” This means recognizing the true mark of aging and death amid aging and death. Aging and death are dharmas of recompense; recognizing their true mark brings the cool benefit of wondrous principle and is also benefit of recompense.

Because one can retain this scripture, one is born in the Land of Bliss, dwells within a lotus blossom, and is not troubled by desire. This is also freedom from the ten disturbances, the wholesome practice of the bodhisattva path, the benefit of names, the subtlety of contemplative practice, and the subtlety of cultivated causes. Attaining dhāraṇī and being able to turn provisional existence and enter emptiness are the benefits of the lower, middle, and upper medicinal grasses and also the benefit of the small tree. Attaining the dhāraṇī of hundreds of thousands of turnings is benefit to the great tree. Attaining the dhāraṇī of skillful means in the sound of Dharma is real benefit of resemblance. If one hears for even a moment and attains ultimate complete awakening, this is real benefit.

Again, when someone digs into a high plateau and sees dry soil, this represents the benefits of the lower, middle, and upper medicinal grasses. Seeing mud represents the benefits of the small and great trees. Reaching water represents the benefit of the most real affair. Such benefits can still be obtained in the last five hundred years; how then could circulating the scripture for the benefit of others today fail to bring the seven benefits?

4. Benefit within Contemplation of Mind

The Small Vehicle says that when a thought arises but has not yet moved body or speech, it is not called karma. The Great Vehicle says that an offense made in one instant can cause one to fall into Avīci. Avīci is the place of the greatest suffering as recompense; an instant is the shortest time in which karma can arise. If a heavy karma is already complete when so brief a mind arises momentarily, how could the other nine Dharma realms not also be fully present? If one can purify the mind, all karma is purified.

Contemplation of a pure mind means contemplating every mind as a dharma born through causes and conditions, immediately empty, provisionally existent, and the middle, with the three contemplations in one mind. Through this contemplation, one knows that mind is not a real mind and that mind has only a name; knows that dharmas are not real dharmas and that dharmas are without self; knows that names are nameless and thus equal to self; and knows that dharmas are no dharmas and thus equal to nirvāṇa.

When this understanding arises, attachment to self and what belongs to self becomes like cloud and illusion. This is the benefit of coolness on the ground. Wholesome minds of trust, reverence, shame, and conscience arise and the aspiration toward emptiness, provisional existence, and the middle becomes courageous. This is benefit of cause. Thought after thought corresponding to immediate emptiness brings the benefits of the middle grass, upper grass, small tree, and the others. Thought after thought corresponding to immediate provisional existence brings the benefit of the great tree. Thought after thought corresponding to the immediate middle brings the benefit of the most real affair. The seven benefits can be distinguished within the benefiting mind of one thought.

A person who practices only the contemplation of non-arising and believes only in inward benefit to mind, without believing in the benefit of the Buddha’s empowering force from without, falls into delusion concerning self-nature. A person who believes only in the Buddha’s external empowerment and does not seek benefit within the mind falls into delusion concerning other-nature. Delusion concerning shared nature and delusion concerning causelessness can be understood accordingly.

A person attached to self-nature sees with their own eyes that someone unable to pull a heavy object forward requires assistance from a force to the side. Why then not believe that a person burdened by the weight of defilement and offenses can have contemplative wisdom benefited through the establishment of the Buddha’s power? Again, from where did you obtain this inward contemplation of non-arising? From a teacher, from a scripture, or through your own awakening? Teacher and scripture are your outward conditions. Even if you awakened on your own, you necessarily received hidden empowerment but do not recognize the kindness, like a tree that fails to recognize the kindness of the sun, moon, wind, and rain.

Three further matters show that you do not recognize outward empowerment: first, you do not trust the teaching; second, you do not yourself seek outward empowerment; third, you do not teach others to do so. This is only your own lack of trust, not an absence of outward benefit.

A scripture says: “Neither inward nor outward, yet inward and outward.” Because it is inward, the liberation of the buddhas is sought within the mind. Because it is outward, the buddhas protect and keep one in mind. How can outward benefit be disbelieved? Delusions concerning other-nature, shared nature, and causelessness can be understood accordingly. Because dharmas are immediately provisionally existent, there is no self-nature. Because they are immediately empty, there is no other-nature. Because they are immediately the middle, there is no shared nature. Because both are illuminated, there is no causeless nature.

5. Concluding Provisional and Real

Guangzhai says: “Illuminating the objects of the three threes is provisional, while illuminating the objects of the four ones is real.” The present explanation does not use this interpretation. If the fruit of the Great Vehicle is taken as great principle, why not take the fruit of the Small Vehicle as small principle? Guangzhai answers that the small fruit is not true and therefore its fruit is not made principle. But if so, how are the provisional teaching and those who practice provisionally ever real? If a provisional teaching and provisional practitioners can be established, why not establish provisional principle? Moreover, if the provisional has no principle, the conventional should not be called a truth. Since it is called the conventional truth, the provisional should not stop at three.

Guangzhai further says that the real has four items. But cause and fruit are two dharmas; how can two dharmas be made the one principle? The scripture says: “Contemplate all dharmas as the true mark, neither practicing nor discriminating.” Why then discriminate cause and fruit and establish one principle? On this account there would be no true mark, which would be the speech of Māra. The present explanation therefore does not use it.

The present explanation says instead that illuminating the ten coarse objects is provisional, while illuminating the ten wondrous objects is real. The ten coarse are the various coarse truths and wisdoms of the three causal conditions within the first nine Dharma realms, through coarse benefit; all are called provisional. Illuminating the ten wondrous means the subtlety of principle through the subtlety of benefit, and they are called real because they are wondrous.

Further, the ten coarse are opened precisely for the sake of the ten wondrous, like the blossom existing for the lotus. The intent lies in the lotus, yet the lotus remains hidden and does not appear. Sentient beings are shown, taught, benefited, and delighted within other profound Dharmas. Those other Dharmas possess the real, but the real has not appeared. The scripture says: “The Tathāgata’s intent in skillful means is difficult to understand.” When the blossom opens and the lotus appears, it represents opening the ten coarse to reveal the ten wondrous. The ten coarse then no longer remain; there is only the inconceivable realm of the one great affair, through inconceivable benefit. Master Sengzhao says: “From the buddha land at the beginning through the offering of Dharma at the end, all reveal the inconceivable.” The present explanation is likewise so. Once the coarse has been opened, everything from beginning to end is wondrous.

Explained through the five flavors, in the milk flavor the ten coarse are taught for the sake of the ten wondrous and the ten coarse are opened to reveal the ten wondrous, producing one provisional and one real. Through the four siddhāntas, this gives six provisional and two real. Through the four gates, it gives twelve provisional and four real.

In the Tripiṭaka Teaching, everything is provisional. The conjured city and yellow willow leaf remain within the Tripiṭaka Teaching. In terms of transforming others, it is provisional; in terms of one’s own practice, it is real. Through the four siddhāntas, it has three provisional and one real. Through the four gates, it has twelve provisional and four real.

The Vaipulya teaching completely possesses the four teachings and therefore has thirty kinds of provisional and ten kinds of real. Through the four siddhāntas, it has fourteen provisional and two real. Correlated with the four gates, it has fifty-six provisional and eight real.

The Great Perfection of Wisdom has discarded the Tripiṭaka Teaching and uses only the other three. Twenty kinds from the Shared and Distinct Teachings are provisional and ten kinds from the Perfect Teaching are real. Through the siddhāntas, it has ten provisional and two real. Across the four gates, it has forty provisional and eight real.

At the Lotus Sutra, all that came before is entirely set aside and only the one real is taught. This real is not without skillful means, but these are skillful means of the true mark and are all called real. In terms of the siddhāntas, there are three provisional before awakening and one real at awakening. Across the four gates, there are twelve provisional and four real. On a first reckoning these names and numbers match those of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, but their meanings differ as greatly as heaven and earth. The Tripiṭaka Teaching’s twelve provisional and four real are entirely provisional; those of the Lotus Sutra are entirely real. They also differ from the Vaipulya and Perfection of Wisdom teachings. The scripture therefore says: “Only teach the unsurpassed path and reveal the true mark.” This is the meaning.

The Nirvāṇa Sūtra fully explains the four teachings and therefore likewise has thirty provisional and ten real. On a first reckoning this resembles the Vaipulya teaching, but their meanings are completely different. In the Vaipulya, two teachings enter the real and two do not; in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, all four enter the real. At the causal stage there are three provisional and one real; at the fruit there are four real and no provisional. Through the four siddhāntas, there are fourteen provisional and two real. Across the four gates, there are fifty-six provisional and eight real. If the three causal gates are further applied, there are fifty-six provisional. If the fruit gate is applied, the four real are only real; four are spoken of because their original causes are still retained. Thus all four gates enter the real. In terms of the fruit, four real and twelve provisional match the meaning of the Lotus Sutra.

It is therefore known that although the various teachings all possess provisional and real, the meanings of provisional and real differ. Some are entirely real, some entirely provisional, and some combine provisional and real. All correspond to the affective inclinations of the capacity then present, while conditions and principle have not yet interfused. Judged generally by teaching, the Tripiṭaka, Shared, and Distinct Teachings are provisional and the Perfect Teaching is real. Provisional and real in the various teachings before interfusion are provisional; once interfused, opening the provisional to reveal the real is real. The present Lotus Sutra is the one Perfect Teaching and is therefore real; it also opens the provisional and is therefore real.

Spoken in terms of the Perfect Teaching, illuminating the thirty coarse of the preceding three teachings is provisional and illuminating the ten wondrous is real. Spoken in terms of opening the provisional and perfect interfusion, all thirty coarse are resolved as wondrous and are called only real; this is why they are called wondrous. Spoken in terms of awakening to principle, principle is neither provisional nor real and not a single dharma is seen, like deceiving a child with an empty fist. Teaching provisional and teaching real are still coarse; principle is neither provisional nor real and is therefore wondrous.

6. Before Clarifying the Ten Subtleties of the Origin: Explaining Origin and Trace

Second is clarifying the ten subtleties in terms of the Origin. This has two parts: first, explaining Origin and Trace; second, clarifying the ten subtleties. The present unit includes only the first part.

Origin and Trace have six explanations. First, Origin is the origin of principle, the true mark and the one ultimate path; apart from the true mark of all dharmas, everything else is called Trace. Second, principle and phenomena are both called Origin, while teaching principle and teaching phenomena are called the traces of teaching. Third, teachings of principle and phenomena are both called Origin, while receiving the teaching and cultivating practice are called Trace. This resembles a person who travels from a place: there are tracks of the journey, and by following the tracks one finds the place. Fourth, practice can realize substance, so substance is Origin; function arises in reliance on substance, so function is Trace. Fifth, actual attainment of substance and function is Origin, while provisional application of substance and function is Trace. Sixth, what is revealed today is Origin, while what has already been taught is Trace. These are the six meanings through which Origin and Trace are explained.

First, Origin and Trace are explained through principle and phenomena. All dharmas are established from the origin without abode. The principle without abode is the true mark and true truth of the original time; all dharmas are the manifold phenomena and conventional truth of the original time. The true Origin of the true mark sends down the conventional Trace, and following the conventional Trace reveals the true Origin. Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one. The scripture therefore says: “Contemplate all dharmas as empty, as the true mark; they exist only through causes and conditions and are born from inversion.”

Second, Origin and Trace are explained through principle and teaching. The two truths illuminated in the original time cannot be spoken and are therefore both called Origin. The former buddha taught them through skillful means; these are the teachings of the two truths, and teaching is called Trace. Without the Origin of the two truths there could be no two kinds of teaching; without the traces of teaching, how could the Origin of the truths be revealed? Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one. The scripture says: “This Dharma cannot be shown, and the marks of words are quiescent. Through the power of skillful means, it was taught to the five monks.”

Third, Origin and Trace are explained through teaching and practice. The teaching first received from the former buddha is made Origin, and thereupon arises the practice that cultivates the cause and reaches the fruit. Because teaching expresses principle, practice can arise; because practice accords with teaching, principle can be revealed. Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one. The scripture says: “All dharmas from the beginning have constantly borne the mark of quiescent extinction. After buddha-children have practiced the path, in a future life they attain buddhahood.”

Fourth, Origin and Trace are explained through substance and function. Through cultivation in the distant past, one first accorded with principle and realized the Dharma-body as Origin. Because the Dharma-body as Origin was first attained, the function of a responsive body arose from that substance; the Dharma-body was in turn revealed through the responsive body. Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one. The scripture says: “Since I attained buddhahood, an immensely distant time has passed. Only through skillful means have I taught and transformed sentient beings and spoken in this way.”

Fifth, Origin and Trace are explained through real and provisional. The Dharma-body and responsive body actually attained in the most distant past are both called Origin. In the intervening time, birth and extinction were repeatedly proclaimed and Dharma-bodies and responsive bodies were provisionally applied in various ways; these are called Trace. Without the original Dharma-body and responsive body first attained, there could be no intermediate traces of Dharma-body and responsive body. Trace reveals Origin. Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one. The scripture says: “This is my skillful means; all buddhas are likewise.”

Sixth, Origin and Trace are explained through present and already-taught. The phenomena and principles through provisional and real already taught in the preceding teachings are all Trace. The distant phenomena and principles through provisional and real taught in the present scripture are all called Origin. Without the distant Origin revealed in the present scripture, there would be no way to send down the Trace already taught; without the Trace already taught, how could the present Origin be revealed? Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one. The scripture says: “Only after a long time do the Dharmas of the buddhas necessarily teach the real.”

Gathered in reverse through already-taught and present, “already-taught” is designated Trace and includes the ten coarse and ten wondrous since Śākyamuni’s place of quiescent extinction, all called Trace. “Present” is designated Origin and gathers from afar all the coarse and wondrous of the first original time, all called Origin.

Gathered in reverse through provisional and real, provisional is designated Trace and separately includes the ten coarse and ten wondrous of the variously named buddhas in the intervening time, all called provisional. Real is designated Origin and includes the ten coarse and ten wondrous of the first time, all called real.

Gathered in reverse through substance and function, function is designated Trace and includes the five subtleties of original stimulus and response, supernormal power, teaching the Dharma, retinues, and benefit. Substance is designated Origin and includes the original subtlety of the Three Dharmas.

Gathered in reverse through teaching and practice, practice is designated Trace and includes the original subtleties of practice and stages. Teaching is designated Origin and includes the subtlety of wisdom in the first original time.

Gathered in reverse through principle and teaching, principle is designated Origin and includes the subtlety of objects in the original beginning. Teaching is designated Trace and includes the subtlety of the original teacher’s teaching and also the ten subtleties of the original teacher.

Gathered in reverse through principle and phenomena, phenomena are designated Trace and include the various coarse objects of the original time. Principle is designated Origin and includes the various wondrous objects of the original time. The very first Origin is Origin alone and not Trace. What was taught last is Trace alone and not Origin. What lies between is both Trace and Origin. Without the Origin of the original time, the intermediate and final traces could not descend; without the Trace already taught, the Origin taught in the present could not be revealed. Though Origin and Trace differ, they are inconceivably one.

General List of the Ten Subtleties and Ten Analytical Stages

The second section clarifies the ten subtleties of the Origin. The first is original cause, the second original fruit, the third original land, the fourth original stimulus and response, the fifth original supernormal power, the sixth original teaching of the Dharma, the seventh original retinues, the eighth original nirvāṇa, the ninth original lifespan, and the tenth original benefit.

The explanation of these ten subtleties is itself divided into ten analytical stages. The first briefly explains the ten meanings. The second explains how they arise in sequence. The third explains the opening and combining of Origin and Trace. The fourth establishes them through cited passages. The fifth explains them broadly. The sixth presents questions and answers in terms of the past, present, and future. The seventh judges coarse and wondrous. The eighth concludes provisional and real. The ninth explains benefit. The tenth contemplates the mind.

First Analytical Stage: Briefly Explaining the Ten Meanings

The subtlety of original cause is the cause cultivated when the Buddha first aroused the mind of awakening and practiced the bodhisattva path. The sixteen princes’ propagation of the scripture and forming of affinities with sentient beings in the time of the Buddha Great-Pervasive-Surpassing Wisdom all occurred in the intermediate period after the first attainment of buddhahood; they are not the original cause.

The scripture uses the dust-mote simile to reveal the remoteness of time. Suppose the Sahā world were ground into ink, one traveled eastward through a thousand worlds before placing one dot, and then all the worlds that had or had not been dotted were ground into motes of dust. Even if each mote were counted as one eon, the time since the Buddha attained the path would exceed that number by hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of eons. Maitreya is the bodhisattva who will attain buddhahood in the next life. Even if he directly used the seed-wisdom that emerges into the provisional to calculate those worlds, he could not know their number; how then could he exhaust the count of all their dust motes? This is only a simile skillfully established by the Tathāgata to reveal the aspect of remoteness. Even if worldly people were adept in wisdom and calendrical calculation, how could they fathom it? The scripture says that with the Buddha-eye the Buddha sees those remote eons as though they were today. Only the Buddha can know such remoteness.

Yet all causes practiced during that remote period are still causes of the Trace, not the original cause. If causes cultivated in the intermediate period were retained without being brushed aside, later people would find it difficult to believe the genuine event of the remote Origin. The Lotus therefore brushes aside appearances of the Trace, removes doubts, and reveals that although those causal practices were skillful establishments, they were not the first real cause. When the scripture speaks of the Buddha originally practicing the bodhisattva path, it does not mean any of these intermediate periods. The path practiced before and beyond them is called the Origin. This is the subtlety of original cause.

The subtlety of original fruit is the fruit obtained when the perfect and wondrous cause first practiced accords with ultimate permanence, bliss, self, and purity. Rocana’s attainment of buddhahood at the place of practice of quiescent extinction is not taken as the original fruit. Even fruits obtained in the intermediate period are not taken as the original fruit; still less could Rocana, attaining only today, be called original. Only the fruit first realized at the extremely remote beginning since the attainment of buddhahood is called the subtlety of original fruit.

The subtlety of original land means that once the Buddha of the Origin has accomplished the fruit, he must have a land on which he depends. Today’s Buddha of the Trace abides in the land of common residence and can also manifest in the other three lands. The intermediate period likewise has four lands, so the Buddha of the Origin must also have land. Where does he ultimately abide? The scripture says that since attaining buddhahood, the Buddha has constantly taught the Dharma and transformed beings in this Sahā world. According to this passage, that is neither today’s Sahā within the Trace nor a place of the provisional Trace in the intermediate period, but Sahā at the time of the Origin. This is the subtlety of original land.

The subtlety of original stimulus and response means that once the fruit has been accomplished, there are the twenty-five samādhis realized at the time of the Origin and vows of kindness and compassion. Sentient beings’ capacities and the Buddha’s response are mutually related, and the Buddha can remain quiescent and unmoving while illuminating all capacities. This is called original stimulus and response.

The subtlety of original supernormal power is the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation obtained in the past. Joined with the various forms of compassion from the time of the original cause, it applies teaching and transformation, manifests supernormal power, and shakes the first sentient beings who can be delivered. This is called original supernormal power.

The subtlety of original teaching of the Dharma is the Dharma that the Buddha taught through four kinds of eloquence when, in the remote past, he first sat at the place of practice, first attained right awakening, and first turned the Dharma-wheel.

The subtlety of original retinues is the group taught and transformed through the Dharma at the time of the Origin. Bodhisattvas who abide below and whom even Maitreya does not recognize are precisely the Buddha’s retinues from the time of the Origin.

The subtlety of original nirvāṇa is the nirvāṇa that is the virtue of severance realized at the time of the Origin. It is also the Buddha’s responsive manifestation in the land of common residence and the land of expedient remainder at the time of the Origin, where, after delivering all sentient beings with affinities, he proclaims entry into extinction.

The subtlety of original lifespan means that once the Buddha has proclaimed entry into extinction, the length and remoteness or proximity of his lifespan can be discussed.

The subtlety of original benefit is the eightfold and tenfold benefit obtained by retinues at the time of the Origin who are karma-born, vow-born, supernormal-power-born, response-born, and so forth.

Second Analytical Stage: The Ten Meanings Arise in Sequence

These ten meanings were originally taught directly in accordance with conditions and are scattered in different places throughout the scripture. Since they are now being arranged into a sequence, it is necessary to explain how each arises from what precedes it.

Original cause is listed first because the fruit must be obtained through a cause. Once the fruit is accomplished, there is a land on which it depends. When the ultimate fruit abides in the land, it can illuminate the root-capacities of sentient beings. When those capacities stir, the Buddha applies teaching and transformation; applying teaching and transformation entails supernormal power. Once supernormal activity is complete, the Buddha next teaches the Dharma to sentient beings. Those taught and transformed through the Dharma become retinues. When all retinues have been delivered and the conditions of teaching and transformation are exhausted, the Buddha manifests nirvāṇa. Only because nirvāṇa occurs can the length of the lifespan be discussed. The benefit produced by this long or short lifespan, including every kind of benefit after the Buddha’s extinction during the true Dharma and semblance Dharma, is included under the subtlety of benefit. Although the meanings are actually immeasurable, only ten are established here. They encompass the beginning and end from cause through benefit and at the same time form an ordered sequence.

Third Analytical Stage: Similarities, Differences, Opening, and Combining in Origin and Trace

Within the Trace, the cause is unfolded and the fruit combined: the habitual fruit and recompense-fruit are combined into the subtlety of the three dharmas. Within the Origin, the cause is combined and the fruit unfolded: the causal meanings of objects, wisdom, practice, and stages are combined as original cause; the habitual fruit is unfolded; and the subtlety of original land is separated out from the recompense-fruit. These similarities and differences are established for convenience in expressing the meaning, with something selected or omitted on each side.

Within the Trace, objects, wisdom, practice, and stages are explained in detail. Since the text of the Origin section is brief, all are gathered generally as the subtlety of cause. Once the intent is understood, one knows that this is only a difference of opening and combining. The subtlety of original fruit here is the fruit-meaning of the subtlety of the three tracks in the Trace. Stimulus and response, supernormal power, teaching the Dharma, retinues, and benefit have the same names as in the Trace. Nirvāṇa and lifespan are separately opened in the Origin because buddhas of the remote past such as Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance and Kāśyapa entered nirvāṇa while teaching the Lotus. From the meaning, one knows that the Buddha of the Origin must have had a pure land and pure capacities; because those past affairs had already been completed, the subtleties of nirvāṇa and lifespan can be opened separately. These two meanings are not separately established in the Trace because Śākyamuni, although proclaiming in the Lotus that he would enter nirvāṇa, had not yet actually manifested extinction. That event occurred only when the Nirvāṇa Sūtra was taught, so it is not separately distinguished in the Trace. The subtlety of benefit has the same name as in the Trace.

Fourth Analytical Stage: Establishing the Ten from the Scripture of the Origin Gate Alone

To establish these ten meanings, one need not seek far in other scriptures, nor draw indiscriminately on every place in the complete scripture; passages from the Origin Gate alone suffice. The verses in Lotus Sutras taught by buddhas of the past were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. How could the Indian original exhaustively record everything taught by today’s Buddha during eight years at Vulture Peak? China lies at the frontier and heard only the general meaning. People see the extant seven fascicles and assume that this is a short scripture, but the Indian text was extensive and distinguished everything. Even within the few pages before us, passages establishing the ten subtleties are perfectly clear.

The scripture says that the lifespan accomplished while the Buddha originally practiced the bodhisattva path is even now not exhausted. This establishes the subtlety of causal practice at the time of the Origin. It also says that since the Buddha truly attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless koṭis of nayutas have passed; and that since he truly attained buddhahood it has been remote like this, but he teaches and transforms sentient beings through expedients and therefore makes such statements. These two passages establish the subtlety of original fruit.

The scripture further says that after the Buddha attained complete awakening in the Sahā world, he taught, transformed, disclosed to, and guided these bodhisattvas; and that since then he has constantly taught the Dharma and transformed beings in this Sahā world and has guided and benefited sentient beings elsewhere. The land here is no longer today’s Sahā, but the land at the time of the Origin. It therefore establishes the subtlety of original land.

The scripture further says that if sentient beings come before the Buddha, he observes with the Buddha-eye whether their faculties of faith and the rest are sharp or dull. This is the wisdom that illuminates capacities at the time of the Origin and establishes the subtlety of original stimulus and response.

The scripture further speaks of the Tathāgata’s power of secret supernormal penetration. Passages concerning the intermediate period also say that the Buddha sometimes manifests his own body, another’s body, his own affairs, or another’s affairs. This means extending forms throughout the ten Dharma realms and creating various images. Since this occurs in the intermediate period, one can verify that it also occurred at the Origin, establishing the subtlety of original supernormal power.

The scripture further says that these bodhisattvas were all transformed by the Buddha, who caused them to arouse the mind of the great path; they now abide in nonretrogression and cultivate and study the Buddha’s path-Dharma. A passage on the intermediate period further says that the Buddha sometimes speaks of his own affairs and sometimes another’s affairs. Since this occurs in the intermediate period, one can verify that the Buddha also taught the Dharma at the Origin, establishing the subtlety of original teaching of the Dharma.

The scripture further says that the bodies of these bodhisattvas are all golden and that they abide in empty space below; they are the Buddha’s children, and since the remote past the Buddha has taught and transformed this assembly. This establishes the subtlety of original retinues.

The scripture further says that the Buddha has also spoken of himself as entering nirvāṇa and that all such statements are distinctions made through expedients. It also says that his extinction is not now actual, yet he proclaims that he will take extinction. When the conditions of a period of teaching and transformation in the past were exhausted, the Buddha proclaimed entry into extinction. Since the intermediate period had such proclamations of nirvāṇa, the Origin must have had nirvāṇa by the same principle. This establishes the subtlety of original nirvāṇa.

The scripture further says that in different places the Buddha speaks of himself with different names and greater or lesser ages. Age is lifespan, while greater and lesser are long and short and also include permanent and impermanent. Since this occurred in the intermediate period, the lifespan at the time of the Origin must likewise have been such. This establishes the subtlety of original lifespan.

The scripture further says that the Buddha again teaches the subtle and wondrous Dharma through expedients and can cause sentient beings to arouse joy; this is benefit in the intermediate period. It also says that when sentient beings hear the Buddha teach that the number of eons in his lifespan is remote like this, immeasurable and boundless asaṃkhyeyas of beings obtain great benefit; this is benefit in the Trace. Since the Trace and intermediate period both have benefit, the Origin must have had it by the same principle. This establishes the subtlety of original benefit. These ten bases are all clearly recorded in the scripture and are not human inventions.

Fifth Analytical Stage: Broadly Explaining the Ten Subtleties of the Origin

Without the Origin, there would be no basis for extending the Trace; if one can understand the Trace, one can know the Origin. For those who have not yet understood, further distinctions will now be made. The ultimate Dharma-body at the time of the Origin is subtle, wondrous, profound, and remote. If the Buddha had not personally taught it, even Maitreya would remain obscure and unknowing; how much more so bodhisattvas at lower stages, and how much more ordinary people. Even so, one cannot remain ignorant even of one’s parents’ ages; how then could one fail to know the Tathāgata’s merit? The following therefore makes an approximate investigation according to the intent of the scripture.

The Subtlety of Original Cause

The scripture speaks of the lifespan accomplished while the Buddha originally practiced the bodhisattva path. “Life” here is wisdom-life and reveals the subtlety of wisdom at the time of the Origin. In “originally practiced the path,” practice means advancing and tending toward, and reveals the subtlety of practice at the Origin. In “while on the bodhisattva path,” a bodhisattva is a person at a causal stage and reveals the subtlety of stages at the Origin. A single scriptural sentence thus establishes the three subtleties of wisdom, practice, and stages. Combined, they are the subtlety of cause at the time of the Origin, not a cause of the Trace.

Causes of the Trace are presented in many ways. One account says that in the past the Buddha was a potter who encountered a prior Śākyamuni Buddha and offered three things: grass for a seat, a burning lamp, and sugarcane syrup. No sooner had he voiced his vow than he received a prediction that the names of his future parents, disciples, and attendant would all be the same as those of the earlier Buddha. This was the arousing of the mind in the first asaṃkhyeya eon. The passage does not say that he severed delusive obstructions, so one knows that this is the aspect of causal practice for a Tripiṭaka buddha.

Another account says that in the past the Buddha was a brahmin youth who encountered Dīpaṃkara Buddha, offered and scattered five flowers, spread his hair over the mud, leapt into empty space, and attained patience with the nonarising of dharmas. The Buddha predicted that in the future he would be named Śākyamuni. The Large Prajñā also says that he received a prediction within the city Flower-Adornment, which has the same meaning. These accounts all mention severing delusion, so one knows that they present causal practice for a Shared-teaching buddha.

Another account says that in the past the Buddha was the brahmin Treasure-Ocean, who practiced great vigor at the place of the Buddha Jewel-Treasury in the land Śāntiraṇa and received flowers sent as offerings by buddhas of the ten directions. He was both the father of the Buddha Jewel-Treasury and the teacher of Amitābha, and his merit was called inconceivable. One therefore knows that this presents causal practice for Distinct- and Perfect-teaching buddhas.

For three reasons, all the causes just described are causes of the Trace. First, they are relatively near to the present. Second, the depths described differ. Third, all are brushed aside by the scripture. Every causal practice in the intermediate period, from after the original attainment of buddhahood until before the present life, is an expedient and therefore a cause of the Trace.

If one clings to a cause of the Trace as the original cause, one knows neither Trace nor Origin. It is like a person who does not recognize the moon in the sky and sees only its reflection in a pool. From the light, cassia tree, and round disk in the reflected moon, one can know the moon above by relying on the reflection below. The light represents the subtlety of wisdom, the cassia tree the subtlety of practice, and the disk the subtlety of stages. If one recognizes the three subtleties in the Trace and then brushes aside the Trace to reveal the Origin, one can know the subtlety of cause on the ground of the Origin, as if brushing away the reflection in the water and pointing to the sky. If a person keeps facing the basin, how could he fail to raise his head and look at the sky? How can someone so deaf, blind, and foolish discuss the path? If this is understood, the Origin of the appearances of the Trace is not the Origin, and the Trace extended from the Origin is not the Trace. Although Origin and Trace differ, they are the inconceivable one.

Someone asks: When the scripture speaks of the time the Buddha originally practiced the bodhisattva path, it should mean the time he obtained the true path at the first abode. The intermediate period should mean the grounds, where he increased the path and diminished birth-and-death. Today’s place of practice of quiescent extinction should be wondrous awakening. Since wondrous awakening reveals the Origin, what it points to should be the former first abode. Can this explanation stand?

The answer is that neither text nor meaning permits it. The scripture says that the Buddha completely practiced all path-Dharmas possessed by the buddhas and that he fully practiced all paths. Only when every causal practice is complete is there original cause. The first abode cannot be called complete in every respect and therefore is not the original cause indicated by the scripture. Furthermore, fruits obtained in the intermediate period are all brushed aside as provisional; how could a fruit obtained today at the place of quiescent extinction become real in turn? If even the fruit of the intermediate period is brushed aside, how could its cause be the real original cause? The proposed interpretation therefore cannot stand.

The Subtlety of Original Fruit

The scripture says that since the Buddha attained buddhahood it has been extremely remote. “I” reveals the track of true nature. “Buddha” means awakening and reveals the track of contemplative illumination. “Since” means coming by the path of reality to attain right awakening and thereby reveals the track of supporting accomplishment that initiates responsive function. The three tracks have been accomplished for a remote time; this is the subtlety of original fruit.

The original fruit was perfected long ago in the remote past, not first accomplished today within the Trace. Nor is there only one appearance of attaining buddhahood within the Trace. The first account says that the Buddha sat on a grass seat beneath the tree of the path and through thirty-four moments of mind simultaneously severed all delusions of views and thoughts. Awakening brilliantly, he knew all worldly and world-transcending dharmas and was therefore called Buddha. There is only this one Buddha, not buddhas of the ten directions; all buddhas of the past, present, and future are other buddhas, not his emanations. This is the appearance of the fruit of a Tripiṭaka buddha.

The second account says that beneath the tree of the path the Buddha used heavenly robes as his seat and attained buddhahood by severing residual habits through wisdom corresponding in one thought. The Large Prajñā says that during the shared prajñā, a thousand buddhas appeared in the ten directions, and all those who posed questions about prajñā were named Subhūti and Śakra Devānām Indra. These too were other buddhas, not his emanations. This is the appearance of attaining the fruit for a Shared-teaching buddha.

The third account says that at the place of practice of quiescent extinction the Buddha used a seven-jeweled flower as his seat, with his body proportioned to the flower dais. On each of a thousand petals was one bodhisattva and again a hundred koṭis of bodhisattvas, making a thousand hundred koṭis of bodhisattvas in all. White-tuft radiance and emanated-body radiance were released throughout the ten directions. White-tuft radiance entered the crowns of the bodhisattvas on the flower dais, while emanated-body radiance entered the crowns of the bodhisattvas on the petals. This was called receiving the rank of Dharma king; they exhausted the bottom of all buddha-dharmas and attained buddhahood. The one on the flower dais was called the recompense-buddha, those on the petals response-buddhas. Recompense and response relate to one another but are not mutually identical. This is the appearance of attaining the fruit for a Distinct-teaching buddha.

The fourth account says that at the place of practice empty space is the seat: when one attains, all attain. Vairocana pervades every place, and the attainments of Rocana and Śākyamuni likewise pervade every place. The three buddhas are complete without the slightest deficiency; they are mutually identical and neither one nor different. In the Lotus, each of the eight directions contains four hundred myriads of koṭis of nayutas of lands, and every Śākyamuni placed among them is Vairocana. The Contemplation of Samantabhadra says that Śākyamuni is named Vairocana. This is the appearance of attaining the fruit for a Perfect-teaching buddha.

For three reasons, all these fruits are fruits of the Trace. First, they are attained only in the present life. Second, the depths described differ. Third, all are brushed aside as expedients of the intermediate period. If they were original fruits, how could they be attained only today? The original fruit should be one fruit that is all fruits; how could it have differences of before and after? Before the present life but after the original attainment of buddhahood, the Buddha practiced causes, obtained fruits, proclaimed birth, and proclaimed extinction hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of times. All belong to the intermediate period and are brushed aside as expedients. How could today’s attainment of buddhahood beneath the king of trees at the place of practice of quiescent extinction not be the Trace?

If one clings to a fruit of the Trace as the original fruit, one knows neither Trace nor Origin. Extending the Trace from the Origin is like the moon appearing in water; brushing aside the Trace to reveal the Origin is like brushing aside the moon’s reflection and pointing to the moon in the sky. One should brush aside the fruit first attained today, know that all such fruits are fruits of the Trace, and then point to the fruit attained in the remote past, knowing that only it is the original fruit. With this understanding, doubts about the fruits of the intermediate period suddenly disappear and faith in the remote past becomes clear. Although Origin and Trace differ, they are the inconceivable one.

The Subtlety of Original Land

The scripture says that since attaining buddhahood, the Buddha has constantly taught the Dharma and transformed beings in this Sahā world and has guided and benefited sentient beings elsewhere. Sahā is the land of common residence at the time of the Origin; elsewhere means the other three lands at the time of the Origin. This points to the lands inhabited by the true body and response-bodies at the time of the Origin, not lands within the Trace.

There is likewise more than one account of lands in the Trace. Some say that the world encompassing three thousand hundred koṭis of suns and moons is the defiled land of common residence. Some say that in the west is a land named Unsurpassed whose adornments are all like Sukhāvatī; this is the pure land of common residence. Some say that the Lotus-Treasury Ocean in the Flower-King World is the land of true recompense. Some say that the place where the Buddha abides is named eternally quiescent light; this is the ultimate land.

The principle of quiescent light is universally pervasive like a mirror or a vessel; the lands differ like distinct images in the mirror or different portions of rice in the vessel. Sentient beings are separated by their individual karmic powers and therefore experience and see different lands. The Vimalakīrti says that the buddha-land is originally pure, but sentient beings cannot see it. This describes difference in what sentient beings experience and perceive, not in the buddha-land itself.

From another perspective, all three realms today belong to the Buddha. Whether lands are pure or defiled, their disciplining and embracing are entirely established by the Buddha for sentient beings. It is like people dwelling on land that does not thereby belong to them, or like a father who constructs a house that remains after he departs. The Tathāgata is the same: he acquires a buddha-land for sentient beings and manifests extinction when teaching and transformation are complete. Though the Buddha departs, the land remains. From this perspective, it is the Buddha’s land and does not lie with sentient beings.

Again, when the lands are purified three times in the scripture, some see the defiled land of common residence transformed into the pure land of common residence. Some see the pure land of expedient remainder, as when the “Lifespan” chapter says that those with profound faith and understanding see the Buddha constantly on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa together with great bodhisattvas and the Saṅgha of śrāvakas. Some see the pure land of true recompense, as when they see the Sahā land made entirely of dark-blue beryl and populated only by bodhisattvas. Others see quiescent light. Through the power of the Lotus samādhi, sentient beings see differently.

For three reasons, all these lands are lands of the Trace. First, they are places inhabited by today’s Buddha. Second, they were established through earlier and later cultivation. Third, they are brushed aside by the scripture as belonging to the intermediate period. If a land were original, it would not be the land in which today’s Buddha abides; what today’s Buddha inhabits is a land of the Trace. If a land were original, it should be one land that is all lands, without being established through earlier and later cultivation or differing in depth. Everything before today’s land and after the land at the time of the Origin is called intermediate; all of the intermediate is expedient, so how could today’s land not be Trace? The Trace is extended from the Origin; if one clings to the Trace as Origin, one knows neither Trace nor Origin. Now the Trace is brushed aside and the Origin pointed out: only the four lands inhabited at the time of the Origin are the subtlety of original land. Although Origin and Trace are distinguished, the principle that is neither Trace nor Origin remains the inconceivable one.

The Subtlety of Original Stimulus and Response

The scripture says that if sentient beings come before the Buddha, he observes with the Buddha-eye whether their faculties of faith and the rest are sharp or dull. Their coming is the stimulus that strikes the Dharma-body; the Buddha-eye’s observation is compassion going forth in response. The faculties being sharp or dull means that sentient beings of the ten Dharma realms differ in hidden or manifest, longing or aversion. This refers to stimulus and response arising from the twenty-five samādhis realized at the time of the Origin, not stimulus and response in the Trace.

Response and transformation in the Trace have several forms. The first account says that three times each day the Buddha enters concentration and observes capacities that can be delivered. This is the Tripiṭaka buddha illuminating capacities in the nine Dharma realms within the defiled land of delimited birth-and-death and responding through analytical emptiness. The second says that the conventional is itself true; without emerging from or entering concentration, the Buddha can know spontaneously. This is the Shared-teaching buddha illuminating capacities in the nine Dharma realms within the pure land of delimited birth-and-death and responding through embodied emptiness. The third says that the Buddha employs the king samādhi to illuminate the capacities of the ten Dharma realms in distinct sequence. This is the Distinct-teaching buddha illuminating the land of expedient remainder and responding sequentially. The fourth says that the king samādhi simultaneously illuminates capacities in the ten Dharma realms. This is the Perfect-teaching buddha illuminating capacities in the land of quiescent light of the ten Dharma realms and responding perfectly.

For three reasons, these forms of stimulus and response are Trace rather than Origin. They are first accomplished today, each has earlier cultivation and later study and a different depth, and all are brushed aside by the scripture as expedients. Partial and perfect became complete only beneath the tree at the place of quiescence, so this is known to be Trace. Earlier and later cultivation with differences in depth show that it is provisional. Since everything from the intermediate period onward is brushed aside as expedient, how could it not be Trace? Since the Trace issues from the Origin, it cannot be grasped as Origin. One should relinquish the Trace, point to the Origin, and know that the principle in which Origin and Trace are mutually identical is the inconceivable one.

Four statements can be made. Original stimulus can be coarse and stimulus in the Trace wondrous; original stimulus can be wondrous and stimulus in the Trace coarse; both can be wondrous; or both can be coarse. The Buddha’s response should be treated in the same four ways. Again, original stimulus can be broad and stimulus in the Trace narrow; stimulus in the Trace can be broad and original stimulus narrow; both can be narrow; or both can be broad. The Buddha’s response should again be treated in the same four ways. Yet this Origin section distinguishes Origin and Trace only according to today and the past, not according to coarse and wondrous or broad and narrow.

The Subtlety of Original Supernormal Power

The scripture says that the Tathāgata possesses the power of secret supernormal penetration and that the Buddha sometimes manifests his own body and another’s body, his own affairs and another’s affairs. Manifesting his own body and affairs is perfect supernormal power; manifesting another’s body and affairs is partial supernormal power. Calling it secret reveals its wondrousness. Whether partial or perfect, it is wondrous as supernormal activity. What is indicated here is supernormal power at the time of the Origin, not supernormal power in the Trace.

Supernormal power in the Trace has several forms. The first cultivates fourteen transformations based on the eight liberations and spheres of mastery and obtains the six supernormal powers, surpassing non-Buddhists and excelling the two vehicles; this is the supernormal power of a Tripiṭaka buddha. The second obtains the six powers through uncontaminated wisdom that embodies dharmas, surpassing the powers obtained through the eight liberations; this is the power of a Shared-teaching buddha. The third gathers the preceding six powers into five and then, based on the Middle Way, arouses uncontaminated supernormal penetration; this again forms six and is the supernormal power of a Distinct-teaching buddha. The fourth possesses the six powers and every transformation through the dhyāna of morally indeterminate transformation upon transformation of the Middle Way. Without emerging from the concentration of extinction, the Buddha can manifest every deportment; speech and silence do not obstruct one another, and movement and stillness are nondual. The six auspicious signs and purification of lands in the present scripture also belong to the supernormal power of a Perfect-teaching buddha.

The same three meanings—newly obtained, recently cultivated, and brushed aside—show that these powers are Trace, not Origin. Their four statements are the same as in the section on stimulus and response. When the Trace is extended from the Origin, the Trace is not the Origin; when the Trace is brushed aside to reveal the Origin, one should relinquish the Trace, point to the Origin, and know that Origin and Trace are the inconceivable one.

The Subtlety of Original Teaching of the Dharma

The scripture says that these bodhisattvas were all transformed by the Buddha, who caused them to arouse the mind of the great path and now all abide in nonretrogression. Saying that they were transformed by the Buddha indicates that he taught them the Dharma. Saying that he caused them to arouse the mind of the great path distinguishes this from a Lesser Vehicle teaching. It refers to teaching the Dharma at the time of the Origin, not teaching in the Trace.

Teaching the Dharma in the Trace has many forms. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra expressly says that the first and last of the five flavors issue from the cow; by inference, the middle three must likewise issue from it. An ordinary calf eats only ordinary grass and can produce only milk. Because it has not eaten the grasses of the five levels of patience, it cannot produce the other four flavors. A good and well-trained calf does not eat grasses growing too high or in places too wet, but suitable food such as wine lees and wheat fodder. Milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence are thus fully present in the cow and only await feeding and milking before issuing according to the milking.

When milked after eating ordinary grass, the cow produces milk. After eating the grass of lower patience, it produces curds; after the grass of middle patience, raw ghee; after upper patience, refined ghee; and after highest patience, clarified essence. The cow’s producing the five flavors in sequence represents the gradual Dharma. Its producing clarified essence directly represents the sudden Dharma. Its producing three flavors represents the indeterminate Dharma.

The Buddha is the same. Partial and perfect Dharmas are completely present in the Buddha’s mind and only await sentient beings’ capacities striking before the teaching differs. When a capacity for wholesome destinations strikes, he teaches the Dharma-wheel for humans and gods. When a capacity for analyzing dharmas strikes, he teaches the Dharma-wheel of the two vehicles. When a capacity for embodying dharmas strikes, he teaches the Dharma-wheel of skillful crossing. When a capacity for successive differentiation strikes, he teaches the sequential Dharma-wheel. When a capacity for the perfect and sudden strikes, he teaches the Dharma-wheel of nonfabrication.

The flavor produced also differs according to how capacities strike simultaneously. When two capacities strike, the fourth and fifth flavors are produced. When one capacity strikes, only the second flavor is produced. When four capacities strike, four flavors are produced, excluding the first. When three capacities strike, three flavors are produced, excluding the first and second. When one capacity strikes, only the fifth flavor is produced, excluding the other four.

Consider also what four kinds of buddha attain at the place of practice. The Dharma attained there by a Tripiṭaka buddha is like milk already in the cow; on rising from the place of practice he teaches the Dharma-wheel of milk. The Dharma attained there by a Shared-teaching buddha is like curds already in the cow; on rising he teaches the Dharma-wheel of curds. The Dharma attained there by a Distinct-teaching buddha is like all five flavors already in the cow; on rising he teaches the Dharma-wheels of the five flavors in sequence. The Dharma attained there by a Perfect-teaching buddha is like clarified essence already in the cow; on rising he immediately teaches the Dharma-wheel of clarified essence.

Someone asks: The “Great Scripture” says that after eating milk-gruel one needs no other food. Should this not be the Dharma-wheel of the milk flavor? The answer is that milk has many kinds. Milk from a coarse and inferior cow can cause harm; milk from a good calf is the finest milk.

The questioner asks again: If there are many kinds of milk, are there not also several kinds of clarified essence? The answer is that the scripture calls the attainment of arhats and pratyekabuddhas clarified essence, showing that clarified essence can also be superior or inferior. Many meanings are contained here and should be considered carefully.

By applying the same three meanings upward, all the various teachings just described are Trace, not Origin. They were first perfected and first taught today, while what was perfected and taught in the intermediate period is itself entirely brushed aside as expedient. How much more must what was perfected and taught today be Trace? If one clings to the appearances of the Trace, both meanings—Trace and Origin—are lost together. If one brushes aside those appearances, both meanings become clear together. What is neither Trace nor Origin is the inconceivable one.

The matter may also be distinguished from another angle. What was already taught can be called Trace and what is taught now Origin; what was already taught can be Origin and what is taught now Trace; both can be Trace; or both can be Origin. Four statements can likewise be made concerning real Origin and provisional Trace, and further four statements through substance and function and through phenomena and principle.

At this point the Fahua Xuanyi passes from the first half of fascicle seven to its second half. The attribution remains “taught by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai.” Although the fascicle changes, the thread of the ten subtleties of the Origin continues to unfold.

The Subtlety of Original Retinues

The scripture says that these bodhisattvas abide in empty space below. They are all children of the Buddha, and the Buddha is their father. In “below,” below means the bottom limit of the Dharma. The Large Prajñā has the samādhi of the bottom limit of all dharmas. The Explanatory Treatise says that on the great path of wisdom’s perfection, only the Buddha can exhaust the bottom limit. One should thus know that these bodhisattvas are close to the fruit of buddhahood and have brought wisdom’s perfection to its bottom limit.

“Empty space” is the quiescent light of the empty space of Dharma-nature. From the empty space of quiescent light at the time of the Origin, they appear in the empty space of quiescent light today. The assembly in today’s empty space of quiescent light does not recognize the retinues from the Origin, which is why Maitreya says that although he has traveled through many lands, he does not recognize a single one of them. The bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of a thousand worlds who well up from the earth are all response-born retinues from the Origin.

The other three kinds are not separately mentioned because the time is extremely remote and provisional relations have become real relations, so only one is revealed rather than all three. It can also be understood that once one kind is presented, the other three can be known by the same principle.

When the Trace is extended from the Origin, the Buddha also has four kinds of retinue at his first attainment within the Trace: karma-born, vow-born, supernormal-power-born, and response-born. Those transformed in the intermediate period likewise form four kinds. Mañjuśrī, Perceiver of the World's Sounds (Guanshiyin/Avalokiteśvara), Devadatta, and others are at times called the Buddha’s teachers and at times disciples. Those who are confused do not understand the Origin–Trace relations involved. If the entire intermediate period is brushed aside as Trace, both Origin and Trace can be understood; if one clings to the Trace and doubts the Origin, both are lost.

Someone asks: Comparing Trace and Origin, the retinues today as numerous as the dust motes of a thousand worlds are fewer, while the retinues increasing the path since the remote past are more numerous. Do the Dharma-bodies of Origin and Trace therefore differ in depth? The answer is that the Buddha’s Dharma-body has long been complete, with neither increase nor decrease. The distinction here concerns only breadth and narrowness of the conditions of teaching and transformation.

The questioner asks again: If this is so, bodhisattvas of the first and second abodes also differ in the amount of their conditions for teaching and transformation. Should their Dharma-bodies likewise have no differences of depth? The answer is that bodhisattva stages have not yet been exhausted and must be judged as deep or shallow according to each bodhisattva’s actual realization. The Buddha-stage is complete and only breadth or narrowness of provisional transformation is discussed; four statements may be made.

The questioner asks again: When the subtleties of cause, fruit, and the rest are taught, the Buddha of the Origin is pointed out through the Buddha of the Trace. Why, when retinues are taught, are persons from the Origin summoned into the Trace? The answer is that Dharmas such as cause and fruit are subtle and hard to understand, so the remote Origin is pointed out through appearances of the Trace before one’s eyes. Retinues are persons, and it is easier to summon persons as witnesses. One may also bring persons of the Origin to reveal persons in the Trace or use Dharmas in the Trace to reveal Dharmas at the Origin; the two mutually disclose one another.

The Subtlety of Original Nirvāṇa

The scripture further says that the Buddha has spoken of himself as entering nirvāṇa; it also says that extinction is not actual, yet he proclaims that he will take extinction. That extinction is not actual reveals original quiescence in permanence; proclaiming extinction serves to discipline sentient beings. These are all nirvāṇa at the time of the Origin, not nirvāṇa in the Trace.

Nirvāṇa in the Trace has several aspects. The “Great Scripture” says that the assembly summoned by sound and radiance extended from the first disciples through vipers and scorpions. The bodhisattva Immeasurable Body, though still in the position of a disciple, already had an immeasurable body. How could his great teacher truly have needed to recline with pain in his back? It was only the birth-body manifesting illness and entry into extinction. The Dharma-body has no illness, remains constantly, and does not change.

The first kind takes emptiness reached through analyzing dharmas: when the cause is extinguished, the fruit disappears, and nirvāṇa with remainder and without remainder are taught. The second takes emptiness reached through embodying dharmas and likewise uses extinction of the cause and disappearance of the fruit to teach nirvāṇa with and without remainder.

The appearance of extinction in the Trace of the birth-body is described in an Āgama. This was a body born from parents through karma concluded in the past. The Buddha abandoned his land and royal position, practiced austerities for six years, and severed the bonds through thirty-four moments of mind to attain the path. At eighty-two, in the body of an old bhikṣu, he went to Cunda’s dwelling, carried his bowl to seek food, ate sandalwood-tree-ear soup, and taught the Dharma after eating. The lifespan of his recompense was exhausted at midnight; he entered nirvāṇa without remainder, was cremated by fire, and relics were collected. This is the appearance of nirvāṇa for a Tripiṭaka buddha.

According to the Explanatory Treatise, bodhisattvas on the sixth ground have exhausted delusions of views and thoughts. From the seventh ground onward, vows support residual habits as they receive a body in birth-and-death, until the ascent and descent immediately preceding buddhahood; then wisdom corresponding in one thought severs those habits and buddhahood is attained. Once all sentient beings who can be delivered have been delivered and the conditions of teaching and transformation are exhausted, the manifested body ceases and enters nirvāṇa without remainder. This is the appearance of nirvāṇa for a Shared-teaching buddha.

According to the masters of the Dilun school, conditioned cultivation reveals true nature; cultivating awakening perfects the virtues of the fruit and accomplishes great nirvāṇa, also called the nirvāṇa of expedient purity. The “Great Scripture” says that through extinguishing this body of form one obtains permanent form, and that feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise. These are called liberation of form, liberation of feeling, liberation of perception, liberation of formations, and liberation of consciousness. When the two causes of delimited and transformational birth-and-death are exhausted, permanent nirvāṇa with remainder is obtained; when the recompense-bodies of the five aggregates in the two places are exhausted, permanent nirvāṇa without remainder is obtained. This differs from the first two and is the appearance of nirvāṇa for a Distinct-teaching buddha.

The “Great Scripture” further says that great parinirvāṇa is permanent and unchanging, yet can establish various manifestations to discipline sentient beings, as broadly taught in the Śūraṃgama. This is called great nirvāṇa and possesses permanence, bliss, self, and purity. It differs from the first three and is the appearance of perfect nirvāṇa.

The scripture says that in today’s assembly innumerable beings each see differently. Some see the Tathāgata enter nirvāṇa. Some see him remain in the world for one eon or less than one eon. Some see him remain for immeasurable eons. Some see a sixteen-foot body; some a small body or a great body. Some see the recompense-body seated in the Lotus-Treasury World-Ocean teaching the Dharma-gateway of the mind-ground to hundreds of thousands of koṭis of Śākyamuni Buddhas. Some see the Dharma-body like empty space, without distinctions, signs, or obstruction, pervading like the empty space of the Dharma realm. Some see the śāla grove as nothing but soil, sand, grasses, trees, and stone walls. Some see it purified and adorned with gold, silver, and seven jewels. Some see it as a place visited by the buddhas of the past, present, and future. Some see it as the inconceivable real Dharma-substance of the buddhas’ realm. This shows that principal recompense in the Buddha-body and dependent recompense in the land each have four aspects, which are the four aspects of nirvāṇa just described.

The “Great Scripture” and the present scripture have the same meaning. The “Great Scripture” takes permanence as its purport; Kāśyapa’s first question concerns long life, and the Buddha’s answers everywhere reveal future permanence while saying little about the lifespan from a prior attainment, because the Lotus had already taught it. Although that scripture speaks of the lifespan from prior attainment in only one or two places, it cannot therefore be judged to teach that the Buddha attained only recently and has a short lifespan. The present scripture directly clarifies disclosing the Trace to reveal the Origin and takes immeasurable lifespan as its purport, saying little about future permanence; although it mentions that permanence briefly in only one or two places, it cannot therefore be judged impermanent. The two scriptures each present one side. Those of sharp faculties know that if the Buddha was originally permanent, he will also be permanent in the future; understanding future long life, they also understand original long life. The two scriptures therefore have the same meaning.

The present scripture also repeatedly manifests birth and entry into extinction. Birth is not actual birth, and extinction is not actual extinction; precisely this reveals permanence. The twenty thousand Buddhas Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance and Kāśyapa Buddha did not teach a separate Nirvāṇa Sūtra. They clarified original and future permanence within the Lotus Sutra alone, making the meaning of permanence in the Lotus Sutra still clearer.

For three reasons, all the nirvāṇas just described are Trace rather than Origin: extinction is first manifested today; the Buddha can appear again after extinction; and nirvāṇas manifested in the intermediate period are all brushed aside. If every nirvāṇa in the Trace is extended from the Origin, how could the Trace be grasped as Origin? That would mean recognizing neither Trace nor Origin. When the Trace is brushed aside to reveal the Origin, neither meaning is confused. What is neither Trace nor Origin remains the inconceivable one.

The Subtlety of Original Lifespan

Under original cause above, wisdom was taken as life. This wisdom-life is neither long nor short. Precisely because wisdom-life is neither long nor short, it can be manifested as long or short; the present section directly concerns long and short lifespans.

The scripture says in place after place that the Buddha speaks of himself with different names and greater or lesser ages. Age is lifespan; greater and lesser are long and short. When the scripture speaks of different ages throughout the intermediate period, it uses appearances of the Trace to point from afar toward the Origin.

Lifespans in the Trace are not the same. The body of a Tripiṭaka buddha is born from parents; at eighty-two his lifespan ends, his body turns to ash, his wisdom is extinguished, and he is never born again. The body of a Shared-teaching buddha is produced by vows; once the conditions of teaching and transformation are exhausted, he too returns to ashen extinction and is not born again after extinction. The lifespans of these two buddhas extend only as far as karmic power or conditions of teaching and transformation. They do not have wisdom-life that is neither long nor short and therefore cannot spontaneously manifest long or short lifespan or greater or lesser age.

When the Distinct-teaching buddha enters the grounds and breaks ignorance, he obtains the Tathāgata’s one body and immeasurable bodies. The one body abides serenely; through the immeasurable bodies he becomes a buddha in a hundred Dharma realms and also manifests bodies in the other nine realms. His age can therefore be said to be greater or lesser. Greater is the permanent lifespan of the Great Vehicle, lesser the impermanent lifespan of the Lesser Vehicle. Perfect-teaching bodhisattvas are the same when they enter the abodes. Since bodhisattvas within the causal stages can already be neither permanent nor impermanent and yet manifest permanent or impermanent, greater or lesser lifespans, how much more so the final mind, and how much more wondrous awakening.

Reasoning from the three meanings, all these lifespans are lifespans of cause and fruit within the Trace. They are entirely extended as Trace from the perfection of cause and fruit on the ground of the Origin. If even the Trace is like this, how much more the Origin. The scripture says that the lifespan accomplished while the Buddha originally practiced the bodhisattva path has even now not been exhausted; this indicates original cause. Since the lifespan at the causal stage has not been exhausted, how much more the lifespan of the original fruit. If one clings to the Trace, one does not know the Origin. Now that the Trace is brushed aside, one simultaneously recognizes the Origin and the inconceivable one.

The Subtlety of Original Benefit

The scripture says that the Buddha causes sentient beings all to obtain joy. Joy is the mark of benefit. In the Trace, the common ten grounds of the three vehicles—that is, the ten grounds traversed in common by the three vehicles—and the separate ten grounds have such benefits as wondrousness according to stage and wondrousness of entering a stage when opening the provisional to reveal the real. Even hearing the Buddha’s lifespan, increasing the power of the path, and diminishing birth-and-death are all benefits within the Trace. Benefits obtained from every provisional and real teaching in the intermediate period likewise belong to benefits of the Trace. When the Origin is inferred by looking from the Trace, the time of the Origin must also have benefits from partial and perfect Dharmas. All the bodhisattvas below abide in empty space, which indicates that all dwell in quiescent light; this is original benefit. Thus the first Origin is taken as Origin and various Traces are extended from it, after which the Origin is known through the Traces. The items need not be recorded at length here.

Sixth Analytical Stage: Analysis through the Three Times

The scripture speaks of the Tathāgata’s power of sovereign supernormal penetration, his power of great might and valor, and his power of the lion’s vigorous advance. This passage concerns benefiting sentient beings of the past, present, and future.

The provisional and real Dharmas first realized in the past are called the Origin. Only after realizing the Origin did the Buddha teach and transform others through expedients. Whether opening the three to reveal the one or disclosing the Trace to reveal the Origin, the first is still designated as Origin. The intermediate manifestations and disclosures of the Trace to reveal the Origin also designate the first as Origin. Today’s disclosure of the Trace to reveal the Origin designates the first as Origin. A future disclosure of the Origin to reveal the Trace likewise designates the first as Origin. Although the three times differ, the one Origin, Vairocana, does not differ, just as hundreds of thousands of branches and leaves all converge on a single root.

Someone asks: All the immeasurable buddhas now visible are emanations of Śākyamuni. Are there ultimately other buddhas? Do other buddhas each have emanations? The answer is that the Contemplation of Samantabhadra says that in the east is a buddha named Excellent Virtue, and that Excellent Virtue Buddha also has emanated buddhas. One thereby knows that there are other buddhas and that each has emanations. The “Supernormal Powers” chapter further says that the two sounds of snapping fingers and clearing throats reached buddha-worlds throughout the ten directions. The four assemblies in those lands offered from afar; the scattered objects came from the ten directions like heaps of snow and covered the buddhas in this place. This also shows that there are other buddhas and that each has emanations.

The questioner asks again: If the buddhas of the three times all have emanations, why is it said that the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna’s whole body did not disperse and was as if he had entered meditation? If his whole body did not disperse, why is it also said that he traveled through the ten directions to attest the Lotus Sutra? How can these two meanings be reconciled?

The answer is that when explaining recollection of the Buddha, the Explanatory Treatise says that because no one requested Prabhūtaratna Buddha to teach the Dharma, he entered nirvāṇa; later he manifested a buddha-body and a seven-jeweled stūpa to attest the Lotus Sutra. According to the treatise, this was the manifestation of a whole body, not the absence of emanations.

The Nanyue master further said: If Prabhūtaratna Buddha was wholly incapable of teaching the Dharma, how could he have told the four assemblies to erect a great stūpa after his extinction? Clearly he did not refrain from all Dharma teaching; he must only have refrained from teaching the Lotus. He therefore made the great vow not to divide the bones of his birth-body into relics, but to keep his whole body undispersed and appear to attest the perfect scripture. Being as if in meditation expresses non-extinction; appearing to attest the scripture of permanence expresses non-partiality. Because he is neither partial nor extinguished, the meaning of perfect permanence is revealed. His mouth proclaims the great Dharma true and pure: true indicates permanence. Only the virtues true and pure are briefly presented here, but the virtues self and bliss can also be known. People of dull faculties read the words and still cannot perceive this for themselves.

The questioner asks again: If buddhas of the three times can all reveal the Origin, how does the first buddha to attain true buddhahood reveal the Origin? The answer is that not every buddha must reveal the Origin. First consider the side on which it can be revealed. The first wondrous awakening can point to the first abode as Origin; if the first abode receives empowerment and manifests wondrous awakening, it can likewise point to the first abode as Origin. Before the first abode, there is no earlier stage to designate vertically, but horizontally there are still substance and function, and substance can be designated as Origin. Because the Buddha had also made vows, he could teach that his lifespan was remote, as the scripture clarifies.

It can also be explained this way: although the first buddha had no remote and recent, provisional and real, or other Origin–Trace relations of remoteness and proximity to reveal, he could still reveal Origin and Trace through substance and function, teaching and practice, principle and teaching, or phenomena and principle. From the side on which the Origin could not be revealed, when the first buddha had just attained buddhahood he had only then obtained the Origin. Extension of the Trace from the Origin had not yet been discussed, so there was no remote appearance of Trace to disclose and no remote event of Origin to reveal.

For a buddha who had attained in the remote past, the east could be used as a simile, as with Śākyamuni. If the attainment were even more remote, the four directions could be used; if still more remote, the ten directions. If it were more recent, the number of eastern worlds in the simile could be reduced. If there were no remoteness at all, there would be no simile to make.

The questioner asks again: If this is truly the first attainment and no event of the remote Origin can be revealed, why does the scripture say that this is the Buddha’s expedient and that the other buddhas are likewise? The answer is that although there is no long-lasting Origin, if an expedient is needed, the Buddha has wisdom that lengthens and shortens eons and can expand seven days into immeasurable eons.

The questioner asks again: If buddhas include those who attained remotely and those who first attain, and if some disclose the Trace while others do not, should there also be cases of opening the three to reveal the one and cases of neither opening the three nor revealing the one? The answer is that where bodhisattvas and śrāvakas together compose the Saṅgha, there is opening the three to reveal the one. Where the Saṅgha consists purely of bodhisattvas, why would such opening and revelation be needed?

The questioner asks again: If the three are not opened to reveal the one, how should the chapter on the five buddhas be explained? The answer is that the five buddhas are likewise described in this way only when śrāvakas and bodhisattvas compose the Saṅgha together and the buddhas appear in an evil world of five turbidities. If a buddha appears in a pure land, the situation differs.

The questioner asks again: Breaking the ten coarse and revealing the ten wondrous exhausts the delusion of ignorance and reveals the one real principle. Now the wondrous within the Trace is again broken as coarse and the Origin taken as wondrous. What delusion is ultimately broken, and what principle revealed? The answer is that ignorance has extremely many layers and the ocean of the true mark is immeasurably deep and broad. Breaking and revelation can therefore occur repeatedly without fault.

The questioner asks again: If so, the wondrous is being used to break the wondrous, and the wondrous that is broken becomes coarse. By the same reasoning, coarse should also be used to break coarse, and the coarse that is broken should become wondrous. Should the delusions of the four abodes that are broken also be wondrous? The answer is that according to the sudden meaning, the delusions of the four abodes are themselves immediately wondrous; how much more could the wisdom that breaks them fail to be wondrous?

The questioner asks again: If so, there is only the sudden meaning and there should be no gradual meaning. The answer is that when gradual and sudden are distinguished, both what breaks and what is broken in the gradual Dharma are coarse, while both what breaks and what is broken in the sudden Dharma are wondrous.

The questioner asks again: The intermediate period has partial and perfect, provisional and real, yet all are called provisional. By the same principle, should all not also be called partial? The answer is that in a general sense they could be, but not in a differentiated sense. Partial and perfect are judged according to the Dharma taught. The Dharma’s character is fixed, so partial is not perfect and perfect is not partial. Provisional and real are judged according to teaching. Every establishment within the Trace is provisionally posited, so all may be called provisional from the perspective of provisional establishment.

The questioner asks again: If there are wondrousness carrying the coarse and wondrousness not carrying the coarse, should there not also be coarseness carrying the wondrous and coarseness not carrying the wondrous? The answer is that four statements may be made. Wondrousness carrying the coarse is the Distinct Teaching. Wondrousness not carrying the coarse is the Perfect Teaching. Coarseness carrying the wondrous is the Shared Teaching. Coarseness not carrying the wondrous is the Tripiṭaka Teaching.

Another four statements can be made. Wondrousness carrying the coarse is like the Shared Teaching. Wondrousness not carrying the coarse is like the Perfect Teaching. Both carrying and not carrying the coarse is like the Distinct Teaching. Neither carrying nor not carrying the coarse is like the Perfect Teaching drawing in the Distinct Teaching, or the Perfect and Distinct Teachings drawing in the Shared Teaching.

Four statements can further be made according to the five flavors. Coarse without carrying the wondrous is like curds. Wondrous without carrying the coarse is like clarified essence. Both carrying and not carrying the coarse is like raw and refined ghee. Neither carrying nor not carrying the coarse is like milk.

The questioner asks again: Since the two kinds of coarse differ, why are both suddenly called coarse? The answer is that phenomenal aspects are shallow or deep and are therefore divided into two kinds; because neither accords with wondrous principle, both are called coarse.

The questioner asks again: Should there also be real carrying expedients and real not carrying expedients? The answer is that this can be known from the foregoing model. The questioner asks again: Should there also be one carrying two and one not carrying two? The answer is again that this can be known from the foregoing model.

In a general discussion, Origin and Trace are simply provisional and real. To distinguish higher and lower, Origin and Trace should be used. To distinguish true and false horizontally, provisional and real should be used. Origin and Trace are discussed according to body and stage; provisional and real according to wisdom and teaching.

The questioner asks again: To which of the six levels of Origin and Trace do the ten subtleties on the ground of the Origin belong? The answer is that they do not belong only to the past and today, nor only to the intermediate period, but discuss the ten subtleties together through relations such as substance and function, teaching and practice, and principle and teaching.

Seventh Analytical Stage: Judging Coarse and Wondrous

When the ten coarse are realized within the Trace, the ten coarse are called coarse and the ten subtleties wondrous. Before the ten coarse are opened and revealed, they remain coarse; after opening and revelation, the ten coarse become wondrous, as explained in detail above. Within the Trace, whether it is relational wondrousness established in relation to the coarse or wondrousness accomplished by opening the coarse, its wondrous principle does not differ from original wondrousness. Yet because it is obtained only today, new attainment is called coarse. In the Origin, whether coarse, wondrous, or wondrousness accomplished by opening the coarse, its wondrous principle does not differ from wondrousness in the Trace. Yet because it was accomplished earlier, prior attainment is called wondrous.

Phenomena and principle within the Trace are both newly attained and are therefore called coarse; phenomena and principle within the Origin were both attained earlier and are therefore called wondrous. Relations between principle and teaching, teaching and practice, substance and function, provisional and real within the Trace are judged in the same way.

Before the Trace is disclosed to reveal the Origin, one can understand only coarse and wondrous in the phenomena and principle of the Trace and can never understand the coarse phenomenal aspects of the Origin, still less its wondrous substance of principle. Even Maitreya cannot penetrate it, much less anyone else. If phenomena and principle in the Trace are disclosed, phenomena and principle in the Origin are revealed; one knows that only because there are phenomena and principle in the Origin can phenomena and principle in the Trace be extended. Because the Trace comes from the Origin, the Origin is wondrous and the Trace coarse. Since there is a distinction between Origin and Trace, coarse and wondrous are taught. Wondrous principle itself, however, is neither Trace nor Origin, but the inconceivable one. Relations of principle and teaching, teaching and practice, substance and function, provisional and real, past and today can all be understood in the same way.

Eighth Analytical Stage: Clarifying Provisional and Real

Wisdom illuminating the ten coarse objects within the Trace is called provisional; wisdom illuminating the ten wondrous objects within the Trace is called real. Even through the three times of the intermediate period, the ten coarse objects illuminated are called provisional and the ten wondrous objects illuminated real. Yet provisional and real alike all belong to the Trace; because they are Trace, both are called provisional in a general sense.

Intermediate stages like these are immeasurable and boundless and cannot be expressed. Every one has provisional and real. Other scriptures do not even teach one instance of the provisional in the intermediate period, much less one instance of the real; they do not teach even one instance of intermediate provisional and real, much less immeasurable instances; they do not teach even intermediate provisional and real, much less provisional and real on the ground of the Origin. All provisional and real throughout the intermediate period are called provisional, while what illuminated the ten coarse and ten wondrous at the first time of the Origin is entirely called real.

The provisional of the Trace and real of the Origin are equally inconceivable; inconceivability is Dharma-nature. The principle of Dharma-nature is neither ancient nor present, neither Origin nor Trace, neither provisional nor real. Only on the basis of Dharma-nature are Origin, Trace, provisional, real, coarse, and wondrous established. Worldly words include past, future, and present, but this does not mean that awakening itself truly migrates through the three times.

Provisional and real are further distinguished as practice for oneself, transformation of others, and practice for oneself together with transformation of others, as explained under the subtlety of objects above. The provisional and real wisdoms accorded with in the Buddha’s own practice on the ground of the Origin are called his provisional and real in practice for himself. From the time of the Origin through the Deer Park, the Buddha taught these two wisdoms through various expedients in accordance with the wishes of others, changing their application without a fixed location; these are called his two provisional and real wisdoms in transforming others. Although transformation of others has both provisional and real, both are called provisional. Although practice for oneself has both provisional and real, both are called real. This is provisional and real stated by combining practice for oneself with transformation of others.

It can also be explained through applying, abolishing, and opening the provisional. Within the Trace, expedients are established on the basis of the real and the intent originally lies in the real, yet the intent of the real is difficult to fathom. Why? The conjured city is an expedient, but people understand it as the real destination and thus recognize neither provisional nor real.

When the provisional is abolished to reveal the real, the emphasis instead lies in enabling people to understand the provisional, making it easy to fathom. Why? Once one knows that the phenomenal affair of the conjured city was provisionally established by the Buddha, one can comprehensively understand buddha-dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and remotely understand expedients in eons of the distant past. The Avataṃsaka therefore explains many phenomena and numbers for the avaivartikas; this is precisely the meaning.

When the provisional is opened to reveal the real, after sentient beings have understood phenomenal Dharmas, their intent to cling to expedients ceases. They need not leave expedients and seek the real elsewhere in the distance. Expedients themselves are real; there is no separate provisional in addition. This is called opening the provisional to reveal the real.

Since the Trace has the three levels of practice for oneself and transformation of others and of applying, abolishing, and opening, and since all these Traces are extended from the Origin, the same can be said of the time of the Origin. Although Origin and Trace differ, they are the inconceivable one.

Ninth Analytical Stage: Benefit

First comes the benefit obtained by the birth-body, then the benefit obtained by the Dharma-body. The birth-body obtains benefit in two places.

The first is the Trace Gate’s gathering the three into the one and opening the provisional to reveal the real. Birth-body bodhisattvas obtain five kinds of benefit among the ten subtleties. Why? The subtlety of objects is universally pervasive and originally complete in all sentient beings. The subtlety of the vehicle is different and ultimate only at the buddha-fruit. Stimulus and response, supernormal power, and teaching the Dharma are benefits at the fruit-stage; because they are not discussed before the fruit is realized, these three benefits do not apply. The five benefits obtained are therefore wisdom, practice, stage, retinues, and merit.

According to the stages of the six identities, bodhisattvas obtain benefits at four of them. Identity in principle and ultimate identity are excluded by the same principle as above. What is obtained begins with identity in name: at identity in name there are wisdom, practice, stage, retinues, and merit, and through identity in partial realization there are likewise wisdom, practice, stage, retinues, and merit. For example, when Śāriputra received a prediction, the four assemblies, gods, and dragons rejoiced and praised him in verse: Śāriputra of great wisdom had received an honored prediction that day, and they too would all become buddhas. This is the aspect of benefit obtained when birth-body bodhisattvas hear the Dharma taught in the Trace Gate.

The second place is disclosure of the Origin to reveal the Trace: teaching the remoteness of the Buddha’s lifespan greatly increases the samādhi of contemplating the Buddha. Here too birth-body bodhisattvas obtain five of the ten benefits and four benefits among the six identities, diminishing birth-and-death and increasing the power of the path.

From the second abode through bodhisattvas with only one remaining birth, all obtain the five benefits through the Dharma-body. Why? Response-born bodhisattvas hear the merits of the ground of the Origin, and their samādhi of contemplating the Buddha becomes still deeper and broader, beyond measure and incomparable with the benefits obtained earlier within the Trace. As the Buddha-object becomes deeper, merit also grows. The “Distinguishing Qualities” chapter therefore says that the Buddha taught a rare Dharma never heard before; the World-Honored One has great might, and his lifespan cannot be measured. The scripture says that those who hear the Dharma and obtain benefit are filled throughout their bodies with joy; some abide on the ground of nonretrogression and some obtain dhāraṇī. These are the aspects of benefit obtained by the two kinds, birth-body and Dharma-body.

If only realization on the real path is discussed, the two places do not differ; if the phenomenal function of provisional wisdom is discussed, they cannot be compared. The wisdom-liberated and those liberated both ways, for example, do not differ in uncontaminated wisdom, yet their merits are superior or inferior. Attainment of the path in the earlier Trace Gate reaches at most patience with the nonarising of dharmas; attainment in the Origin Gate reaches as high as only one remaining birth. The assemblies obtaining benefit are counted by dust motes. How could their numbers and depth of realization be the same as before? The scripture must be distinguished carefully: the place of arousing the mind is the stage of purification of the six faculties, while only one remaining birth is the last stage of partial realization.

Next comes benefit from transmission. In the earlier transmission of the Trace Gate, bodhisattvas who had vowed to propagate the scripture and arhats who had received predictions propagated it in this and other lands, and the scripture discussed their merit. Examining that passage, it speaks only of hidden benefit and not manifest benefit.

In the present Origin Gate, the Buddha entrusts to the bodhisattvas all Dharmas possessed by the buddhas, including the Dharmas of the Trace Gate. The secret and essential treasury is the true mark in Origin and Trace; all profound affairs are cause and fruit in Origin and Trace. The Buddha entrusts these Dharmas to bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes of a thousand worlds. When bodhisattvas at the stage of the Dharma-body propagate the scripture, how could they be limited, like birth-body bodhisattvas, to this and other lands? They travel through lands in bodies of the ten Dharma realms and therefore have both hidden and manifest benefit.

Someone wonders: Where the Dharma-body abides there are always buddhas, so why are bodhisattvas still needed to propagate the Dharma? The answer is that propagation requires a person and must await the right time and companions. Even while the Buddha was in the world, Mañjuśrī entered the dragon palace to propagate the Dharma. Although there are buddhas where the Dharma-body abides, external conditions are still needed. The Buddha therefore entrusted the Dharma solemnly, manifested his broad and long tongue, stroked their crowns with his hand, and earnestly charged them through various appearances to propagate this Dharma and obtain immeasurable wondrous merit. The wondrous benefit obtained by all who hear cannot be counted. The scripture therefore says that if anyone hears the Buddha teach his lifespan, all sentient beings rejoice and obtain the recompense of immeasurable uncontaminated merit. This is the meaning.

Tenth Analytical Stage: Contemplation of Mind

How can a subtlety of the Origin so remote be contemplated in one’s own mind? It is not directly identical with the mind, yet neither is it apart from the mind. Why? The suchness of the Buddha and the suchness of sentient beings are the same suchness, not two. Since the Buddha obtained this subtlety of the Origin through contemplating the mind and extended the Trace in activity so vast that it cannot be described, my suchness is likewise the Buddha’s suchness. I too should therefore contemplate the mind and produce such vast benefit. I should also vow that my suchness quickly accord with the Buddha’s suchness.

The scripture therefore says that one who hears that the Buddha’s lifespan is immeasurable and believes deeply for a very brief time obtains merit surpassing the earlier merit. It also speaks of vowing that in the future one will deliver sentient beings through long life, like today’s World-Honored One, king of the Śākya clan, who roars the lion’s roar at the place of practice and teaches the Dharma without fear. The practitioner vows that in the future all sentient beings will honor him and that, seated at the place of practice, he will teach lifespan as the Buddha does. This is the aspect of obtaining benefits of the six identities by contemplating the subtlety of the Origin in the mind.

Three Pairs and Six Statements of Great and Wondrous

Someone asks: How should great and wondrous be explained? The answer is that they should be distinguished through three pairs and six statements. The first pair is that the wondrous is the great and the great is the wondrous. The second is that the great breaks the wondrous and the wondrous breaks the great. The third is that the great cultivates the wondrous and the wondrous cultivates the great.

The scripture says that the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle, speaks of such great recompense, and speaks of a great cart, yet the title of the scripture says wondrous. The Nirvāṇa says that great parinirvāṇa is a subtle and wondrous scripture, yet the title says great. Thus the wondrous is the great, and the great is the wondrous.

The Large Prajñā says that form is neither profound nor wondrous, and that feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise neither profound nor wondrous. This is the great breaking the wondrous. The present passage says that all dharmas are empty and quiescent, uncontaminated, unconditioned, neither great nor small. This is the wondrous breaking the great. Again, a great arhat, although already called great, must still cultivate the wondrous. Extinction, cessation, wondrousness, and separation include the word wondrous, yet one must still cultivate the great.

Someone asks: If great and wondrous are entirely equal, all the other scriptures should also be called wondrous. The answer is that in a general discussion, according to principle, the great and wondrous clarified in the various scriptures do not differ. In a differentiated discussion, other scriptures still carry expedients, while the present scripture does not carry expedients and is therefore especially called wondrous. Practitioners of the Lesser Vehicle can enter, and the Trace is disclosed to reveal the Origin; it is therefore especially called wondrous.

The questioner asks again: Great and Lesser Vehicles can both be called wondrous and both teach permanence. If the Lesser Vehicle is first criticized in general by saying that its extinction, cessation, wondrousness, and separation share only the name while differing in meaning and cannot count as permanent, should it not likewise be said in general that the Lesser Vehicle cannot be called wondrous?

The answer is that wondrous is a name for inconceivability. The truth of the Lesser Vehicle also transcends language and thought and can in a general sense be called inconceivable. It can therefore bear the name wondrous in a general sense.

One should next provisionally concede the opponent’s point: the Lesser Vehicle can also call the three unconditioned dharmas—empty space, analytical cessation, and nonanalytical cessation—permanent. Its permanence nevertheless differs from that of the Great Vehicle.

The questioner asks again: Since both are called permanent, do both also integrate and return to the One Vehicle? The answer is that the Lesser Vehicle integrates various views so that all enter the truth. Although this can be called integration, the meaning of what is integrated differs.

One may ask in return: If identical names establish identical meanings, can the Great and Lesser Vehicles both be called impermanent, both be called coarse, and both be said not to integrate and return? Analogies can be generalized while meanings remain different. How could the Great Vehicle be called impermanent? It not only lacks impermanence but also lacks any permanence that can be grasped; precisely because no permanence can be grasped, the name impermanent can be used. How could the Great Vehicle be called coarse? Wherever there is speech, the term coarse can be used. How could the Great Vehicle be said not to integrate and return? All dharmas are buddha-dharmas; what other Dharma remains to be integrated?

I. Why Use the Lotus to Explain the Title?

The lotus blossom is explained next through four approaches: first, determining whether it is a Dharma-name or a simile; second, citing earlier explanations; third, presenting the accounts in scriptures and treatises; and fourth, giving the proper explanation.

First comes the determination of Dharma-name and simile. The provisional and the real are difficult to reveal directly, so the lotus is borrowed as a simile for the Wondrous Dharma. The sutra also contains many passages of seven similes, so a simile is placed in its title. Another explanation says that the lotus is not a simile, but a name taken from the Dharma-gate itself. When heaven and earth first formed and the myriad things had no names, sages observed their principles and established names by following those patterns. Seeing a spider emit silk, they imitated it to knot a net; seeing tumbleweed turn by itself in the wind, they followed it to make a cart; seeing floating timber borne along a current, they devised boats; and seeing bird and animal tracks form patterns, they derived written graphs. In every case, people fashioned an object by following a principle found in things.

The lotus spoken of here likewise does not first become meaningful through a borrowed simile: it is precisely the Lotus Dharma-gate. Because this Dharma-gate is pure and its causes and fruits are wondrous, it is called the lotus blossom. This is the Lotus Samādhi’s name taken from itself, not a simile. Other scriptures often explain their own titles; this sutra does not, perhaps because the relevant passage was not transmitted. Both explanations have reason, and they will now be harmonized.

Someone asks: Must this lotus be the lotus of the Lotus Samādhi, or must it be a lotus among plants and flowers?

The answer is that it is certainly the Dharma-lotus. Because the Dharma-lotus is difficult to understand, the plant-lotus is used as a simile. Those of sharp faculties understand principle as soon as they hear the name and need no simile; they simply understand “lotus” as the Lotus Dharma. Those of middling and lesser faculties have not yet awakened and must know through a simile, so an easily understood lotus is used for a difficult one. The three rounds of teaching accord with those of sharp, middling, and lesser faculties. For the sharp, lotus is a Dharma-name; for the middling and lesser, it is a name as simile. Considering all three faculties together, both Dharma and simile are marked in the title. With this explanation, who is there to dispute? The present discussion will therefore explain lotus through both Dharma and simile.

II. Earlier Explanations of the Lotus

Second, earlier explanations are cited. Master Rui’s preface says that the flower before opening is called kumala, when about to fall it is called kamala, and at the height of its bloom between these two it is called puṇḍarīka. Master Huiyuan says that puṇḍarīka is a simile for the lotus in bloom. The flower’s body changes over time and its name changes with its color, giving it three names. The Great Sutra also speaks of “a lotus among humans, a puṇḍarīka blossom.” Since two names appear together in the title, they should differ as shared and specific names. Here “lotus blossom” is taken as the shared name and puṇḍarīka as the specific name. Master Daolang says that it is a vivid white; others translate it as red or as most fragrant. All describe the appearance of full bloom, and naming puṇḍarīka encompasses them.

Someone asks: Why does the Sanskrit text use the specific name while China uses the shared name?

The answer is that other lands distinguish names for the flower’s three times, while China has no such convention. It therefore uses only the shared name, which itself encompasses the specific.

Another explanation gives the lotus sixteen meanings. The lotus arises from conditions, representing buddha-nature arising through conditions. The lotus can give birth to Brahmā, representing buddhahood produced through conditions. It necessarily grows in mud, representing understanding arising from cyclic existence. It is an auspicious sign that gladdens those who see it, representing their future buddhahood. It grows from the minute to the manifest, representing how a single bow or a single thought can lead to buddhahood. Blossom and fruit necessarily coexist, representing the coexistence of cause and fruit. The blossom necessarily contains lotus fruit, representing how a cause necessarily culminates in buddhahood. Lotus represents leading people into the lotus world. It is what the Buddha’s feet tread, representing the support on which sages take birth. Though this group is counted as ten similes, all are only partial meanings within this tradition’s subtlety of practice.

It is further said that the lotus grows in mud without being stained by it, representing the one existing amid the three without the three staining the one. Its three times differ, representing how opening the three reveals that they are only one. Its opening and closing represent concealment and revelation in response to conditions. Its supremacy among flowers represents being foremost among teachings. Blossom opening and fruit appearing represent skillful discourse revealing principle. Its differences over three times represent provisional and real each suiting its time. These six similes are likewise only partial meanings within this tradition’s subtlety of teaching the Dharma.

Master Guangzhai says that the blossoms and fruits of other flowers do not coexist, representing how other scriptures explain cause or fruit one-sidedly; the lotus blossom and fruit necessarily coexist, representing how this sutra clarifies both. The disciples’ side explains cause and the teacher’s side fruit, and so the lotus is borrowed as the simile.

In the present judgment, this explanation is too brief in expression and one-sided in meaning. In the Trace Gate, both teacher and disciples have cause and fruit. The sutra says that the Buddha practiced all the path-dharmas possessed by buddhas and attained the fruit at the place of practice: these are the teacher’s cause and fruit. Gathering the three into the one is the disciples’ cause, and receiving predictions of future buddhahood is their fruit. In the Origin Gate, the Buddha’s original practice of the bodhisattva path is the teacher’s cause, and the immense remoteness since he attained buddhahood is the teacher’s fruit. His former teaching that led them first to arouse the mind is the disciples’ cause, and their present dwelling in nonretrogression and certain future buddhahood is their fruit. Guangzhai’s meaning is therefore partial and abbreviated and is not adopted.

It can, however, be helped toward completion. The four subtle constituents that compose visible form are in themselves neither blossom nor lotus fruit, yet blossom and fruit can be discussed on their basis. The principle of the true mark is in itself neither the causes and fruits of Origin and Trace, yet those causes and fruits can be explained on the basis of the true mark. The four constituents are likewise neither opening nor closing, yet opening and closing can be discussed on their basis. The true mark is neither provisional nor real, yet on its basis one can speak of opening the provisional to reveal the real and disclosing the Trace to reveal the Origin.

III. The Lotus as Explained in Scriptures and Treatises

Third, scriptures and treatises are cited. The Lotus Treatise lists seventeen names: first, Immeasurable Meanings; second, Supreme; third, Great Vaipulya; fourth, Dharma That Teaches Bodhisattvas; fifth, Kept in Mind by Buddhas; sixth, Secret Treasury of Buddhas; seventh, Treasury of All Buddhas; eighth, Secret Syllables of All Buddhas; ninth, Giving Birth to All Buddhas; tenth, Place of Practice of All Buddhas; eleventh, Dharma-Wheel Turned by All Buddhas; twelfth, Firm Relic of All Buddhas; thirteenth, Great Skillful Expedient of Buddhas; fourteenth, Teaching the One Vehicle; fifteenth, Abiding in the Ultimate Truth; sixteenth, Lotus Blossom of the Wondrous Dharma; and seventeenth, Dharma-Gate That Encompasses Immeasurable Name-, Graph-, and Phrase-Bodies, such as bimbara and akṣobhya. The treatise only lists the seventeen names and does not explain the others.

The treatise next explains the lotus in two senses. The first is emerging from water, indicating an inability to emerge completely from the turbid mud-water of the lesser vehicle. It also means that the lotus emerging from mud and water represents śrāvakas entering and sitting within the Tathāgata’s assembly, like bodhisattvas seated on lotuses, hearing the pure object of unsurpassed wisdom, and realizing the Tathāgata’s secret treasury. The second is the blossom opening: because sentient beings are fainthearted toward the Mahāyāna and unable to give rise to faith, the Tathāgata’s pure and wondrous Dharma-body is disclosed so that faith may arise.

Here is the present explanation of the treatise. Causing sentient beings to see the pure and wondrous Dharma-body takes the unfolding of wondrous causal practice as lotus. Śrāvakas entering the Tathāgata’s assembly and sitting on lotuses takes the land of wondrous recompense as lotus. Why? Vairocana Buddha dwells in the ocean of the Lotus-Treasury together with great bodhisattvas, none of whom are persons within cyclic existence. If śrāvakas enter this realm, the land of wondrous recompense is the lotus. From the standpoint of the present passage, the treatise’s two meanings therefore concern only the subtlety of practice and the subtlety of stages.

The Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra says that compassion is the stalk, wisdom the leaf, samādhi the stamens, and liberation the flower’s opening; the bodhisattva king of bees consumes nectar, and “I now bow to the Buddha-lotus.” It also takes discipline, concentration, wisdom, and dhāraṇī as necklaces adorning the bodhisattva. The present explanation is that a bodhisattva gathers these four dharmas to form a conventionally designated person, like a bee within a flower, and in turn nourishes himself with the four dharmas, like a bee feeding on the flower’s nectar.

IV. From Partial Simile to the Six Similes of Origin and Trace

Fourth comes the proper explanation. According to the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra, the causes and fruits of practices are lotus. The bodhisattva located on the flower is the flower of the causal stage; bowing to the Buddha-lotus is the flower of the fruit stage. According to the Lotus Treatise, the land of dependent recompense is lotus; moreover, bodhisattvas cultivate lotus practices and thereby receive the recompense of a lotus land. Thus dependent and direct recompense, cause and fruit, are all lotus dharmas. Why should a simile be needed to reveal them? Yet people of dull faculties do not understand the lotus of Dharma-nature, so there is no harm in using a worldly flower as a simile.

The sutra nevertheless speaks in two places of the udumbara flower’s appearing only at rare intervals. When this flower appears, a wheel-turning king should appear; when this sutra is taught, sentient beings receive predictions of buddhahood and the Dharma King appears in the world. This numinous and auspicious flower resembles the lotus and is therefore used as a simile. From this standpoint, a worldly flower is borrowed to represent the Wondrous Dharma.

Some similes select only a small part and others range broadly. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra provides examples. To use only a small part, the moon can represent a person’s face, but one must not seek eyebrows and eyes in the moon; snow can represent a white elephant, but one must not look for its tail and tusks in snow. Nothing can fully represent the Lotus Samādhi, so this lotus alone is used. There are many flowers, as explained above, but only the lotus has many blossoms and fruits and can represent a cause containing myriad practices and a fruit perfect in myriad virtues. Other flowers are coarse and represent the causes and fruits of the ten suchnesses in the nine Dharma realms; this flower is wondrous and represents the causes and fruits of the ten suchnesses in the buddha realm.

The same flower next represents the Trace and Origin Gates of the buddha realm, with three similes for each.

First are three similes for the Trace Gate. First, as soon as the blossom arises it necessarily contains lotus fruit. The blossom arises for the fruit, but the fruit cannot yet be seen. This represents establishing the provisional in relation to the real, with the intent directed toward the real though no one can know it. The sutra therefore says that the Buddha’s intent is difficult to fathom and no one can ask; it also says that what he teaches according to what is fitting has an intent difficult to understand.

Second, because the blossom opens, the lotus fruit appears; yet the blossom is still needed to nourish the fruit. This represents the real already being present within the provisional although sentient beings cannot know it. Now opening the provisional to reveal the real still requires the provisional. Broad knowledge of buddha-dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges is precisely for the sake of accomplishing the real and deeply knowing the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing.

Third, blossom falling and lotus fruit maturing represent abolishing the three to reveal the one, so that only the One Buddha-Vehicle goes directly to the place of practice. Bodhisattvas still have practices to carry out and therefore do not see with complete clarity, like a blossom that has opened but not fallen. Buddhas, having no practice still to carry out, see with complete clarity, like blossom fallen and fruit mature. These three similes encompass the Trace Gate from the initial expedient entrance into the Mahāyāna through final perfect completion.

Next are three similes for the Origin Gate. First, the blossom necessarily contains lotus fruit, representing that the manifest Trace necessarily has an Origin and contains it. Although the Buddha’s intent lies in the Origin, it is difficult to know; even Maitreya does not recognize it.

Second, blossom opening and fruit appearing represent opening the Trace to reveal the Origin. The intent still rests in the Trace, because this enables bodhisattvas to recognize the Buddha’s expedients. Once they recognize the Trace, they can in turn recognize the Origin, increasing the path and diminishing cyclic existence.

Third, blossom falling and fruit maturing represent abolishing the Trace to reveal the Origin. Having recognized the Origin, one is no longer confused by the Trace, but cultivates the path upon the Dharma-body and perfectly enters the higher stages. These three similes encompass the Origin Gate from its initial opening through the original ground.

The six similes of the two Gates each have a precise referent. First, the ten suchnesses of the nine realms are extended on the basis of the ten suchnesses of the buddha realm. Second, the ten suchnesses of the nine realms are opened to reveal the ten suchnesses of the buddha realm. Third, the ten suchnesses of the nine realms are abolished to accomplish those of the buddha realm. These three encompass the Trace Gate from beginning to end. If this intent is understood, the twelve links of dependent arising, four truths, three truths, wisdom, practice, stages, and even meritorious benefit can all be represented through them. Fourth, the ten suchnesses of the buddha realm in the Trace are extended on the basis of those in the Origin. Fifth, the ten suchnesses of the buddha realm in the Trace are opened to reveal those in the Origin. Sixth, the former are abolished to accomplish the ten suchnesses of the buddha realm in the Origin. Beginning and end are thereby perfect, and opening and combining complete. This is still only a partial use of the lotus as simile.

V. From the Stone-Hard Seed to the Mature Lotus

Next comes the extensive simile. In explaining the lion’s roar, the Treatise of the Great Perfection of Wisdom proceeds from the lion’s stock and growth in deep mountains and valleys through bodily strength, paws, claws and fangs, head and tail, and the shaking roar, using a whole sequence of comparisons for the Dharma-gate of the lion’s roar. The Great Sutra similarly describes the pārijāta tree from yellowing leaf and protruding bud through blister and fruit, broadly representing the practitioner. Here too the Wondrous Dharma is represented from the initial seed all the way to mature lotus fruit.

Consider a stone-hard lotus seed: black skin outside, white flesh inside, with the four subtle constituents as its substance; a curled lotus leaf about to emerge and all minute parts already complete; then blossom opening, stamens spreading, lotus fruit growing, and the seed chamber maturing. From beginning to end it never departs from the lotus, and the ten meanings are complete throughout. This represents sentient beings of the buddha realm from their first ignorance through the final fruit of buddhahood, lacking none of the ten suchnesses. This is the general statement of the simile.

First, appearance. The stone-hard lotus’s skin is black and therefore not easily stained; it is hard and therefore not easily destroyed. It is neither square nor round, neither born nor extinguished. At the beginning of the eon there was no separate seed, and so it is unborn; the present seed does not differ from the first, and so it is unextinguished. This is the lotus seed’s appearance. The inherently pure minds of all sentient beings are likewise unstained by adventitious dust. Although cyclic existence accumulates layer upon layer, mind-nature does not abide or move and is neither born nor extinguished. This is suchness as appearance in the buddha realm. The Vimalakīrti Sutra says that all sentient beings are immediately the appearance of awakening; this is its meaning.

Second, nature. Though the lotus seed has black skin and lies buried in mud, its white flesh does not change. The wisdom in all sentient beings that can illuminate principle is the same. Although surrounded by the mud of the five abodes and the recompense of cyclic existence, the aspiration for all-wisdom remains and is not lost. This is suchness as nature in the buddha realm. Hence afflictions are themselves awakening, and when dharmas are not born, prajñā is born; these have the same meaning.

Third, substance. Although the seed lies in mud, its four subtle constituents do not decay. This is the seed’s substance. The direct-cause buddha-nature of all sentient beings is likewise unmoving and indestructible as permanence, bliss, self, and purity. This is suchness as substance in the buddha realm. The Great Sutra says that this true flavor remains in the mountain and cannot be covered and destroyed by grasses, trees, thickets, and woods; this is its meaning.

Fourth, power. Though the seed is enclosed by skin and husk and submerged in mud, the curled leaf already lies at its core with the energy to grow upward. The minds of all sentient beings are the same. Though bound by the fruit of suffering and submerged in the accumulation of delusion, they can arouse the mind of awakening from within it, with enormous and heroic strength like lion’s milk or a bowstring made from lion sinew. This is suchness as power in the buddha realm. A scripture says that arousing the mind of awakening shakes boundless cyclic existence and breaks the beginningless wheel of existence. People of Jambudvīpa can arouse the mind with such courage before seeing the fruit.

Fifth, activity. Although the lotus seed is minute, root, stalk, blossom, leaf, stamens, and receptacle are already present within its black skin, all its parts complete at once. This is the seed’s suchness as activity. The first arousal of the mind of awakening in sentient beings is the same: understanding is clear and decisive, compassionate vows are made to seek the Buddha path above and transform sentient beings below, attainment is pledged, and resolve neither tires nor retreats. This is suchness as activity in the buddha realm. The Huashou Sutra says that all merit is contained in the initial mind; this is its meaning.

Sixth, cause. The lotus root rests in mud while the blossom occupies open air. Wind and sunlight move it, and it grows day and night until all its splendor is suddenly complete. Sentient beings likewise arouse the mind of awakening from the boundary of ignorance, cultivate bodhisattva practice, leave cyclic existence, and enter Dharma-nature. Their causal practice ripens; they meet the Buddha-sun and are touched by the wind of supernormal power; thought after thought, they enter the ocean of sarvajñā. This is suchness as cause in the buddha realm. A scripture says that merit made through immeasurable eons does not equal the merit of offering five stalks of lotus to Dīpaṃkara Buddha. This is the accomplishment of the true cause.

Seventh, condition. The lotus’s stamens and anthers circle within the blossom but outside the lotus fruit. This is suchness as condition. A bodhisattva likewise possesses myriad practices and the six perfections within the true cause, every practice containing all practices and assisting the cause, as stamens remain inside the flower. When the fruit is attained, practices come to rest, as the stamens remain outside the fruit. This is suchness as condition in the buddha realm. The sutra says that all path-dharmas of the buddhas have been fully practiced; this is its meaning.

Eighth, fruit. When the blossom is complete, lotus fruit forms; the petals and leaves fall, and the receptacle and seeds ripen. This is the seed’s suchness as fruit. A bodhisattva is likewise moved by the true cause to the great fruit of unsurpassed awakening, perfectly and ultimately matured. This is suchness as fruit in the buddha realm. The sutra therefore says that after Buddha-children practice the path, they will become buddhas in a future life.

Ninth, recompense. The lotus fruit is enclosed by seed chamber and receptacle. This is the seed’s suchness as recompense. A bodhisattva is likewise perfect in the great fruit and complete in unsurpassed recompense. Dependent recompense, the fruit of the habitual fruit, rests upon direct recompense as lotus fruit rests on the receptacle. The sutra says that such great recompense is obtained through long-cultivated karma; this is its meaning.

Tenth, ultimate equality from beginning to end. The lotus in mud and the lotus in open air are both constituted by the four subtle constituents and do not differ from beginning to end. This is the seed’s equality from beginning to end. All sentient beings likewise inherently possess permanence, bliss, self, and purity. When concealed they are called the tathāgata-garbha; when made manifest through cultivation they are called the Dharma-body. The four virtues as inherent virtue and cultivated virtue are one and nondual. This is ultimate equality from beginning to end among the ten suchnesses of the buddha realm. A scripture says that the suchness of sentient beings and the suchness of a buddha are one suchness, not two. The representation of the object of the ten suchnesses through the lotus is now complete.

VI. From the Twelve Links to the Other Nine Subtleties

Next, the lotus represents the twelve links of dependent arising. The black skin, mud, and layers of covering water-grass have the general meaning explained above and are the seed of ignorance. The power able to generate is formations. The curled leaf and all the potential stamens within are consciousness, name-and-form, six entrances, contact, and feeling. The moisture held within is craving, grasping, and existence. The seed’s round, coiled inability to emerge is aging-and-death. If the shoot begins to stir and pierces the black skin, that is the cessation of ignorance. No longer growing within the skin is the cessation of formations. Emerging from the outer husk is the cessation of aging-and-death. This briefly represents the four kinds of twelvefold dependent arising.

Next, the lotus represents the four truths. The black skin represents suffering within the realm; the white flesh, accumulation within the realm; mud, accumulation beyond the realm; and water, suffering beyond the realm. Path and cessation can be understood accordingly. This broadly represents the four kinds of four truths.

Next, the lotus represents the two truths. The visible forms of lotus fruit, root, stalk, and leaves represent the conventional; the hollow openings within fruit, root, and stalk represent the true. This broadly represents the seven kinds of two truths.

Next, the lotus represents the three truths. The true and conventional are as above; the four subtle constituents representing permanence, bliss, self, and purity represent the Middle, the ultimate truth. This broadly represents the five kinds of three truths. The constituents’ nonarising and nonceasing represent the one real truth. No arising at the beginning of the eon and no extinction now represent no truth and no discourse. This completes the lotus representation of the subtlety of objects.

The other nine subtleties are then represented. The seed has an inner nature of growth, representing the subtlety of wisdom. The curled leaf’s nature of growth represents the wisdom of emptiness; the stamens’ and leaves’ nature of growth, the wisdom of provisional existence; and the receptacle’s four constituents, the wisdom of the Middle. These three natures of growth together in one seed represent the subtlety of the three wisdoms in one mind.

Though small, the seed completely contains root, stalk, blossom, and leaf, representing the subtlety of practice. The stalk represents compassion, the leaf wisdom, the stamens samādhi, and the opening blossom liberation. Three kinds of leaves further represent three kinds of kindness: a green leaf covering the water represents kindness conditioned by sentient beings; a yellow leaf covering the water, kindness conditioned by dharmas; and an upright leaf, unconditioned kindness. Once an upright leaf emerges, lotus fruit will soon grow; once unconditioned kindness is accomplished, a prediction of buddhahood is near.

The ways in which root, blossom, seed, and leaf benefit people and bees also represent practice. Availability for taking and use is giving; fragrance is discipline; growing in mud without humiliation is patience; continual growth is vigor; softness and moisture are concentration; freedom from staining by mud and water is wisdom. This completes the representation of the subtlety of practice.

The lotus next represents stages. Inherent presence in principle is the stage of identity in principle. The shoot piercing the coarse skin is the stage of coarse abiding; emerging through the fine skin, fine abiding; drilling into mud and approaching stability, desired concentration; growing level with the mud but not yet reaching water, access concentration; leaving mud and dwelling in water, the four dhyānas. Concentration is like water that washes away the dust of desire; growth in the water represents the formless attainments. Up to this point is the lotus stage of contemplative practice. Emerging from water represents breaking views and thought and is the ten faiths, the lotus of resemblance. Poised in open air and about to open represents the ten abodes. Stamens and receptacle becoming distinguishable represent the ten practices. Turning with the sun and opening represent the ten dedications. Full opening and bearing bees and butterflies represent the ten grounds. When stamens and petals fall and only receptacle and seeds remain, all practices rest, wondrous awakening is complete, there is nothing more to do upon the fruit, and true permanence is still and clear. All these represent the subtlety of stages.

The lotus’s four subtle constituents represent the track of true nature. The hollowness of the seed chamber and the centers of stalk and root represents the track of contemplative illumination. The receptacle and chamber enclosing the seed represent the track of supporting accomplishment. This uses the three dharmas to represent the subtlety of the vehicle.

When a mature lotus occupies open air and its shadow falls on clear water, it represents manifest stimulus and manifest response. Its shadow on turbid water represents hidden stimulus and hidden response. Its shadow on wind-tossed water represents stimulus and response that are both hidden and manifest. The Great Sutra speaks of a tree’s shadow in darkness and a nighttime shadow falling on water, representing stimulus and response that are neither hidden nor manifest. These represent the subtlety of stimulus and response.

When wind shakes a lotus so that the east side rises and the west falls, its southern movement casts a shadow north, lower wind closes it, and upper wind opens it, this represents portents such as rising in the east and disappearing in the west, or rising in the center and disappearing at the edges: the portent of earth-movement. The blossom closing at sunset represents entry into concentration; opening at sunrise, teaching the Dharma; appearing red from afar and white nearby, with red blossom and green leaves shining against each other, the portent of emitting light; fragrance spreading over the fields, fragrant sandalwood wind; fine pollen drifting, heavenly flowers raining down; and wind and rain scattering droplets so that they roll and strike one another, heavenly drums sounding of themselves. All represent the subtlety of supernormal power.

The flower closed and unopened represents concealing the One Vehicle and separately teaching three. Petals opening represents gathering the three into the one and teaching only the One Vehicle. Blossom falling while fruit remains represents verbal teaching ending and merging with principle. Only one who knows that the Tathāgata constantly teaches no Dharma is called learned. These represent the subtlety of teaching the Dharma.

A new flower growing beside one lotus root and producing immeasurable lotuses in succession represents karma-born retinues. A seed falling from one chamber into mud and producing immeasurable lotuses in succession represents supernormal-power-born retinues. Digging up roots and gathering seeds from another pond and planting them here so that this pond flourishes represents vow-born retinues. Something flying from another pond like gossamer or thin mist, entering this pond and making lotuses flourish, represents response-born retinues.

Fish and turtles opening their mouths beneath the lotus and bees and butterflies gathering above represent the wondrous benefit of coolness received in the recompense of sentient beings. Delight on seeing the lotus represents causal benefit. Using the leaves represents the benefit of the three grasses; using the blossom, the benefit of the wondrous small tree; using the fruit, the benefit of the wondrous great tree; and using the root, the benefit of the wondrous real affair. These represent meritorious benefit. Similes such as these and immeasurable others represent the ten subtleties within the Trace.

VII. How Does a Pond of Lotuses Represent Responsive Manifestation from the Original Ground?

Next comes a simile for the Origin. A pond of lotuses first ripens; after ripening, the fruit falls into mud and water, grows again, and matures once more. As growth and maturation continue repeatedly and years accumulate, lotuses spread throughout the great pond until it is filled with a field of flowers.

The Buddha is the same. Having completed cultivating the cause and realizing the fruit at the original ground, he again arouses expedients for sentient beings and manifests both first arousing the mind and ultimate attainment within cyclic existence. He manifests birth and death in this way hundreds of thousands of times without number. From the original ground he lowers responsive traces, bends down to join ordinary beings, and again cultivates five practices.

A black lotus again producing stalk and leaves represents cultivating noble practice again. The seed’s four subtle constituents gradually growing represent cultivating heavenly practice again. The first emergence of the leaf represents cultivating brahma practice again. The seed falling into mud represents joining every kind of evil and cultivating the practice of illness again. The first sprouting of the shoot represents joining lesser goodness and cultivating the practice of an infant again. Thus the Buddha benefits beings through past, present, and future beyond all count, pervading the Dharma realm. Everywhere are the benefits of division-bodies, lowering traces, opening traces, abolishing the Trace, and more. Without the lotus, how could all the preceding dharmas be represented so broadly? Dharma and simile are both clarified, and therefore it is called the Lotus Blossom of the Wondrous Dharma.

This closes the second half of fascicle seven of the Fahua Xuanyi. The first half of fascicle eight follows, headed “spoken by Tiantai Master Zhiyi.”

VIII. The Shared Name “Sutra” and Its Five Explanatory Approaches

Second comes the explanation of the shared name, the single graph 經, “sutra.” If the foreign sound were preserved in full, the phrase would be saddharma puṇḍarīka sūtra. Saddharma is translated as Wondrous Dharma and puṇḍarīka as lotus blossom, both already explained above. Sūtra also has such transliterations as xiudalan and xiudulu. Just as Chu and the central states had different pronunciations, regional pronunciations differed there and Chinese translators also disagreed. Some therefore say the word is untranslatable, while others say it can be translated.

The issue is explained through five approaches: first, clarifying nontranslation; second, clarifying translation; third, harmonizing translation and nontranslation; fourth, traversing dharmas to clarify sutra; and fifth, contemplating mind to clarify sutra.

IX. Nontranslation: Each of Five Meanings Opens into Teaching, Practice, and Principle

First, nontranslation. A single word in a foreign language contains multiple meanings, while Chinese meanings are relatively simple and shallow. A single meaning cannot translate a compound of meanings, so the original sound should be retained. Why, then, is it still called 經, “sutra”? Master Kaishan says this is not a correct translation, but only a local expression used in place of the foreign one. In China, the works of sages are called classics and those of worthies the masters and histories; abroad, what sages teach is called sutra and what bodhisattvas teach is called treatise. Since the term cannot be translated directly, the local word is appropriately used in its place.

Because one graph cannot exhaust sūtra, it contains five meanings: first, basis of Dharma, also called production; second, subtle emergence, also called disclosure; third, gushing spring; fourth, carpenter’s line; and fifth, garland-thread. These are not treated as five correct translations, but as five senses explaining why the word cannot be translated. Each is further opened into three, making three times five, or fifteen meanings: basis of teaching, basis of practice, and basis of meaning. They will now be explained broadly.

Basis of Dharma

All dharmas are originally inexpressible, but discourse arises through the conditions of the four siddhāntas. Teaching through the worldly siddhānta is the basis of teaching. Teaching for persons and as counteraction is the basis of practice. Teaching through the ultimate-truth siddhānta is the basis of meaning.

The basis of teaching means that one word from the Buddha’s golden mouth is the basis from which immeasurable verbal teachings flow. Whether shared or specific, they accorded with beings at the time and allowed hearers to attain the path. A scripture therefore says that every sūtra has immeasurable sūtras as its retinue. If later people do not understand, bodhisattvas take the Buddha’s teaching as their basis and compose shared and specific treatises that explain shared and specific sutras, so that the Buddha’s intent is not obstructed and those who investigate can attain the path. Treatises can do this because they have a basis. Though non-Buddhists also have things to say, their words do not accord with sūtra. Their speculative discourse has no basis and cannot lead to the path.

Sutra as the basis of practice means that it shows people a Dharma free from contention, indicates passable and blocked routes, opens and illumines the eyes, and cures their illnesses. When people practice according to the teaching, shared and specific practices arise; they pass from this shore to the other, enter the cool pool, and reach the nectar ground and the true Dharma-jewel of nirvāṇa. Sentient beings enter through various gates, and thus sutra is the basis of practice.

Sutra as the basis of meaning means that investigating one sentence can disclose one meaning and investigating immeasurable sentences immeasurable meanings. One sentence can also disclose immeasurable meanings, and immeasurable sentences can converge on one meaning. Whether shared or specific, one follows what expresses and enters what is expressed; hence sutra is the basis of meaning.

Gathering these three into one Dharma-gate, the basis of teaching is wisdom from hearing, the basis of practice wisdom from reflection, and the basis of meaning wisdom from cultivation. The single meaning “basis of Dharma” already contains so much that no one Chinese expression can exhaust it. If the first meaning is instead called production, it can be extended through the same three levels.

Subtle Emergence

Second, sūtra contains the meaning of subtle emergence. The Buddha teaches through the four siddhāntas in skillful, orderly, and measured language, good at the beginning, middle, and end, perfect and complete like ocean water gradually deepening.

In terms of teaching, a person first hears the worldly siddhānta, receives it in sequence, distinguishes the marks of dharmas, and gives rise to a faint understanding that gradually grows until it becomes clear, practiced, and unobstructed. The person also reads differing treatises widely, knows the intent of wise people broadly, and becomes learned with powerful memory, all the way to buddhahood. This is subtle emergence in terms of teaching.

In terms of practice, first hearing the siddhāntas for persons and counteraction enables practice to arise. One begins with lesser human and heavenly practices, then cultivates discipline, concentration, and wisdom and enters uncontaminated practice; passes through seeing the path and cultivating the path; and finally realizes no-more-learning. From the lesser vehicle one then enters the Mahāyāna and ultimately reaches wondrous awakening. This is subtle emergence in terms of practice.

In terms of meaning, first hearing the ultimate-truth siddhānta produces an understanding that expands in succession. One enters hearing and reflection, then warmth, summit, and highest worldly dharma; next enters seeing the truths and obtains the genuine ultimate truth; then enters cultivation and reaches no-more-learning. From the lesser vehicle one enters the Mahāyāna and sees the Middle in resemblance and in truth. The development begins as a minute shoot and ends as a tree one can embrace. This is subtle emergence in terms of meaning.

Gathering these three emergences into one Dharma-gate, in the lesser vehicle they are the emergence of three liberations. In the Mahāyāna’s first abode, the emergence of teaching is prajñā, the emergence of practice is tathāgata-garbha, and the emergence of principle is the true mark. Subtle emergence itself contains many meanings and therefore cannot be translated by one expression.

Gushing Spring

Third, sūtra contains the meaning of a gushing spring, a name taken from a simile. The Buddha teaches through the four siddhāntas, with text and meaning inexhaustible and the Dharma-current unbroken.

Someone who hears the worldly siddhānta can understand immeasurable sentences from one. Over a month, four months, or a year, the person teaches as freely and unobstructedly as wind in open space. An initial mind’s understanding already gushes like a spring; how much more a later mind, and how much more the Tathāgata. It is also like a spring among rocks whose flow moistens and benefits everywhere. This is the gushing spring of teaching.

Someone who hears the siddhāntas for persons and counteraction gives rise to immeasurable practices, buddha-dharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and diverse Dharma-gates. One practice contains immeasurable practices, enters wholesome objects, and mounts the straight path of the eight right practices. This is the gushing spring of practice.

Someone who hears the ultimate-truth siddhānta sees principle like open space, immeasurable and pervasive everywhere. This is the gushing spring of meaning.

Gathering the three into a Dharma-gate, the spring of teaching is unobstructed eloquence in Dharma, the spring of practice unobstructed eloquence in phrasing, and the spring of meaning unobstructed eloquence in meaning. Unobstructed delight in teaching pervades all three. The gushing spring already contains so many meanings that it cannot be translated by one expression.

Carpenter’s Line

Fourth, sūtra contains the meaning of a carpenter’s line. The Buddha teaches through the four siddhāntas. First hearing the worldly siddhānta cuts straight distorted doctrines born of craving and affective views, prevents one from being toppled and confused by deviant winds, and brings one onto the correct track: this is the carpenter’s line of teaching. Hearing the siddhāntas for persons and counteraction enables one to leave what is not the path and enter the fine, upright course of the factors of the path that carries one across: this is the carpenter’s line of practice. Hearing the ultimate-truth siddhānta cuts through the near shore of craving and affective views and reaches the further shore, neither guarding cyclic existence nor abiding in the unconditioned: this is the carpenter’s line of meaning.

Gathering the three into a Dharma-gate, teaching cuts through distortion as right speech; practice cuts through distortion as right action, right vigor, right mindfulness, right concentration, and the rest; meaning cuts through distortion as right view, right intention, and the rest. The carpenter’s line itself contains many layers and therefore cannot be translated by one expression.

Garland-Thread

Fifth, sūtra contains the meaning of a garland-thread. It connects teaching, practice, and principle as a string connects flowers into a garland and prevents them from falling apart. The worldly siddhānta binds the Buddha’s verbal teaching so that it is not lost. The siddhāntas for persons and counteraction bind the many practices so that they are not lost. The ultimate-truth siddhānta binds principle so that it is not lost.

Gathering the three into a Dharma-gate, binding teaching produces faultlessness of speech, binding practice faultlessness of body, and binding meaning faultlessness of mind. These are also three activities shared with wisdom and three dhāraṇīs. Teaching not falling apart is the dhāraṇī that retains what is heard; practice not falling apart is the dhāraṇī of practice; meaning not falling apart is the dhāraṇī of complete retention.

Explained as adornment of the person, teaching is the adornment of wisdom, practice the adornment of merit, and meaning the Dharma-body that is adorned by concentration and wisdom. All sentient beings have the Dharma-body, but in its unadorned state it is slighted by gods and dragons. When concentration and wisdom are cultivated to adorn it, all who see it respond with reverence.

Earlier teachers said that sutra contains five meanings. Here each is opened into three, and so sutra contains fifteen. A single simple Chinese word cannot exhaust a foreign word; this is how the plurality of meanings in the name is explained.

Sutra is also glossed as constant. Teaching that demons and non-Buddhists cannot alter or destroy is constant teaching. Practice that is true, upright, and unmixed and cannot be surpassed is constant practice. Principle that is still, unmoving, and certainly has no other destination is constant principle. Sutra is also glossed as norm: Dharma can be a norm, practice can be a norm, and principle can be a norm. Merely opening each of these two glosses, constant and norm, into three gives six meanings. How, then, could a many-layered foreign word be rendered by only one?

X. Translation: Sutra, Accord, Basis of Dharma, Thread, and Teaching of Good Speech

Second, those who maintain that the term can be translated also establish five meanings.

First, it is translated as “sutra.” One begins with the sense of a course, because every teaching proceeds from the minds and mouths of sages. This is opened as course of teaching, course of practice, and course of meaning. Every sūtra, every shared and specific treatise, and every commentary and record proceeds from the minds and mouths of sages and is therefore a course of teaching. Every practice that accords with principle, practice of resemblance, practice of faith, and practice of Dharma does the same and is therefore a course of practice. Every worldly, world-transcending, expedient, and ultimate meaning does the same and is therefore a course of meaning. Teaching follows the worldly siddhānta; practice follows the siddhāntas for persons and counteraction; meaning follows the ultimate-truth siddhānta.

Sutra also has the sense of warp and weft. In weaving silk, the vertical warp is crossed by horizontal weft, producing patterns of dragons and phoenixes. The Buddha teaches the warp through the worldly siddhānta, and bodhisattvas use the same siddhānta as weft to explain it. With warp and weft joined, the patterned discourse of sages and worthies is formed. In terms of practice, wisdom-practice is warp and practice-practice weft; joined, they form the pattern of the eightfold path. In terms of principle, expression of the true is warp and expression of the conventional weft; joined, they form the pattern of the two truths.

Second, it is translated as “accord”: according with conditions, affairs, and meaning. Teaching through the worldly siddhānta accords with faculties and conditions. Teaching according to what is fitting in order to make goodness arise, and teaching as counteraction in order to break evil, both accord with affairs. Teaching according to the ultimate truth accords with meaning.

Third, it is translated as “basis of Dharma,” meaning the basis of teaching, practice, and principle, as explained above.

Fourth, it is translated as “thread.” A thread holds teaching, practice, and principle together so that they do not fall apart; its senses of adorning the person and the rest are as above. A thread also sews. It sews teaching so that chapters and sentences form an ordered whole fit to be taught. A pratyekabuddha who does not encounter the thread of the twelve divisions cannot teach the Dharma; worldly intelligence and eloquence likewise lack the sutra-thread and cannot form right speech. Thread also sews practice: following sutra makes practice right, while departing from it makes practice distorted. It also sews principle: what principle does not seal falls into the sixty-two wrong views; what principle seals converges on the one ultimate path.

Fifth, it is translated as “teaching of good speech,” which is also teaching of good practice and teaching of good principle. What is taught through the worldly siddhānta is the teaching of good speech. What is taught through the siddhāntas for persons and counteraction is the teaching of good practice. What is taught through the ultimate truth is the teaching of good principle. These are the five translations of sūtra.

XI. Harmonizing Translation and Nontranslation

Third comes harmonizing translation and nontranslation. When Buddhism first reached China, the meanings of foreign and Chinese words were not yet clear. The doctrine of nontranslation was transmitted by scholars of Hexi. Later people adopted it and added that the Chinese 經 merely substitutes for the foreign name. Now that translation is splendidly developed and the two languages are better understood, why cling to nontranslation and explain it only through multiple meanings? If plurality is the reason, why limit it to five?

If the word can be translated, which translation is correct? Meanings may be diverse, but how could there be many correct translations? If sūtra is translated as “sutra,” there are nine kinds of sūtra, including shared and specific sūtra and the sūtra-piṭaka. Why, then, is there no clearly designated sutra division among the twelve divisions and sutra collection among the three collections? If it is translated as accord, basis of Dharma, and the rest, the twelve divisions should be renamed accord division, basis-of-Dharma division, thread division, good-speech division, and teaching division; the three collections should likewise include a thread collection and the rest. Yet those places do not follow these translations. Why should only sūtra as a shared category do so?

The Treatise of the Great Perfection of Wisdom says that prajñā is weighty while “wisdom” is light: how could the light translate the weighty? This can serve as evidence for nontranslation. Yet the true mark is weighty and inexpressible, and still it can be spoken in a foreign language. Why could it not be translated and spoken in Chinese? If it cannot be translated at all, it should also be unspeakable. This serves as evidence for translation.

Earlier teachers said that nirvāṇa contains three virtues and cannot be translated as extinction. Emperor Wu of Liang further said that extinction is a lesser-vehicle Dharma and cannot translate great nirvāṇa. This is not necessarily so. Since scriptures speak of nirvāṇa and great nirvāṇa, there can likewise be extinction and great extinction. This sutra says “the Tathāgata’s extinction”; is that not great extinction? If lesser extinction can translate lesser nirvāṇa, why could great extinction not translate great nirvāṇa?

If “extinction” is said to be too one-sided to contain the three virtues, it can now be explained as containing many meanings. Extinction is liberation. Liberation necessarily has a person who is liberated, and that person is the Dharma-body. The Dharma-body is not merely a body but necessarily has numinous wisdom, which is prajñā. Alternatively, “great” is the Dharma-body, “extinction” liberation, and “crossing” prajñā. The mere expression “extinction and crossing” thus plainly contains all three virtues. How could it be wholly untranslatable? Fixation on one expression only makes the two parties judge one another right and wrong without penetrating the Buddha’s intent, as explained above.

Now translation and nontranslation are harmonized so that the meaning opens broadly. Under nontranslation, one name contains five meanings and each contains three, making its beauty still clearer. Under translation, each translated term likewise possesses the three meanings of teaching, practice, and principle, deepening the intent. Whether translation or nontranslation is followed, where is the conflict? The Great Sutra says that the Buddha never contends with the world. When worldly wisdom says something exists, he too says it exists; when worldly wisdom says it does not exist, he too says it does not exist. This harmonization leaves neither party at fault, while principle remains.

Moreover, the meaning of the Perfect has no fixed direction and can be entered everywhere, allowing all the explanations above. Yet when the correct translation is fixed, conventional naming must not be confused. One name is provisionally adopted as the correct translation without causing resentment in either party. Why? From ancient times to the present, works translated from foreign languages into Chinese have all been titled 經. If another translation were correct, why were the titles not changed to Accord or Thread? Since transmission and translation unanimously use the term, “sutra” is clearly correct. If all were merely substitutes for an untranslatable word, why was the title not made Subtle Emergence or Gushing Spring?

The graph 經 is now adopted as correct precisely because it is strongest in containing many meanings. It contains the three bases of Dharma, three subtle emergences, three gushing springs, the several carpenter’s lines and garland-threads, as well as accord, thread, teaching of good speech, the gloss as norm, and the gloss as constant. Not one of these lies outside the single graph. Other phrases can be understood in the same way. Because all Mahāyāna and lesser-vehicle teachings use “sutra” as their shared name, the other terms are not adopted.

XII. Traversing Dharmas: Sound, Visible Form, Mental Objects, and All Six Sense-Objects Are Sutra

Fourth comes traversing dharmas to clarify sutra. If “sutra” is the correct translation, what dharma is actually sutra? Earlier explanations used three.

First, sound is sutra. While the Buddha was in the world, he expounded with his golden mouth. There was only sound to express and distinguish, and hearers attained the path; sound was therefore sutra. The Large Prajñā says that one hears from a good spiritual friend.

Second, visible form is sutra. While the Buddha was in the world, sound could be sutra. After his extinction, transmission depends on paper and ink, so visible form should be sutra. The Large Prajñā says that one hears from written scripture.

Third, mental objects are sutra. A person reflects inwardly and the mind accords with Dharma, relying neither on another’s teaching nor on paper and ink, but understanding and awakening in the mind. Mental objects are therefore sutra. Hence the statement that one who cultivates my Dharma knows it personally upon realization.

The three objects sound, visible form, and mental objects are used as sutra in this land. A person of sharp auditory consciousness can distinguish and awaken in sound, so sound is that person’s sutra and the other objects are not. A person of sharp mental consciousness can investigate inwardly, reflect, and decide, so mental objects are that person’s sutra and the others are not. A person of sharp visual consciousness understands principle through the expressive measure of writing, so visible form is that person’s sutra and the others are not. This land uses only these three. The other three consciousnesses are dull: smelling paper and ink teaches the nose nothing; touching a scripture teaches the body nothing; and how could the tongue distinguish right and wrong by eating written graphs?

Other lands may use all six sense-objects or emphasize only one. The Vimalakīrti Sutra speaks of giving a single meal to all; one equal toward food is equal toward dharmas, and one equal toward dharmas is equal toward food. This uses taste, the tongue’s object, as sutra. Some lands attain the path when heavenly cloth touches the body and use touch as sutra. Some awaken on seeing the Buddha’s light and use visible form. Some contemplate mind in wordless quiescence and attain the path, using mental objects. The land of accumulated fragrances performs Buddha-work through fragrance and uses scent. The six faculty-consciousnesses in other lands are sharp, so all six objects can become sutra. Three faculties here are dull; the human sense of smell is inferior even to that of donkeys, dogs, and deer. How could people penetrate through smell, taste, and touch?

Someone asks: If an object is sutra because the corresponding faculty-consciousness is sharp, does that object cease to be sutra for a dull faculty?

The answer is that the six objects are in themselves sutra; they do not first become sutra only when someone of sharp faculties awakens through them.

XIII. How Can One Dot of Black Ink Express All Dharmas?

Why are the six sense-objects originally sutra? The Large Prajñā says that all dharmas tend toward visible form and that this tendency does not go beyond it. Visible form can express all dharmas. Take black ink: one stroke expresses one, two strokes two, and three strokes three. A vertical stroke can be made into the graph 王; an added lower-right stroke makes 丑, a lower-left stroke 田, an upper extension 由, and a lower extension 申. By turning the stroke in these ways, what it can express is inexhaustible.

Sometimes one graph expresses immeasurable dharmas; sometimes immeasurable graphs together express one; sometimes immeasurable graphs express immeasurable dharmas; and sometimes one graph expresses one. Tiny turns in a small amount of black ink produce vast differences in expression. A left turn can express evil and a right turn good; a dot above can express the uncontaminated and a dot below the contaminated. Killing and giving life, giving and taking, censure and praise, pain and pleasure are all in the ink, with no dharma outside it.

In brief, black ink expresses immeasurable teachings, practices, and principles and is therefore the basis of teaching, practice, and principle. Black ink develops from an initial dot into immeasurable dots, from dots to graphs, graphs to sentences, sentences to verses, verses to fascicles, and fascicles to sections. In one dot, graph, or sentence, a lesser practice can first be established and later a great practice. In dots and graphs, one can first see shallow principle and later reach profound principle. This is the subtle emergence of teaching, practice, and meaning in black visible form.

Black visible form also gushes forth as dots, and from dots as graphs, sentences, and verses without end; it gushes forth as practices and meanings without end. This is its three gushing springs of teaching, practice, and meaning. Black visible form can also cut straight distortions in teaching, practice, and meaning, making three carpenter’s lines. It can bind the three so that they do not scatter, making three garland-threads. It can also adorn the person.

Visible form further has the sense of a course. Because form binds, there is birth-and-death in the six destinies; because form liberates, there are four kinds of sages. Form can be glossed as a norm: because form can serve as a standard, it can form teaching, practice, and principle. It can be glossed as constant: teaching formed through visible form cannot be destroyed, practice formed through it cannot be altered, and principle revealed through it cannot be moved. Form can also be called untranslatable because it contains many meanings, and translatable because visible form itself can be called sutra.

Thus, when seeing sutra as visible form, one should know craving and affective views regarding form, know form as a dharma arising from conditions, and know that form is emptiness, provisional existence, and the Middle. Form is the Dharma realm and encompasses all dharmas. The Dharma realm is writing, and writing is empty: within it there is no dot, graph, sentence, or verse. Sentences, verses, and writing are ultimately unobtainable. This is knowing that graph is nongraph and nongraph is still graph.

XIV. Black Ink as the Basis of Every Vehicle and Every Subtlety

Since ink as visible form is sutra, it can be explained as the basis of Dharma. If a person gives rise to hatred over written graphs and even takes another’s life, gives rise to craving over them and steals or commits sexual misconduct, or gives rise to delusion over them and develops wrong views, written graphs are the basis of the four evil destinies. If a person gives rise through them to kindness, equanimity, and even right view, they are the basis of human and heavenly destinies.

If one knows that a written graph is a morally indeterminate dharma of recompense, its indeterminate recompense is the truth of suffering. Defilement toward visible recompense is the truth of accumulation. Knowing the graph as formed through conditions, painful, empty, and without self is the truth of the path. Knowing graph to be nongraph, no longer generating inverted views of it, and thereby extinguishing afflictions is the truth of cessation. One thus knows the four truths through a graph. Knowing the graph’s four truths gives rise to the stages of warmth and summit and proceeds to approach and fruit, accomplishing the liberation of worthies and sages. Written graphs are therefore the basis of śrāvakas.

Failure to understand a graph is ignorance. Craving and hatred toward it are formations. Distinguishing whether it is fine or ugly is consciousness. Consciousness taking up the graph’s name is name-and-form. The graph entering the eye is the six entrances. The graph-object facing the faculty is contact. Receiving and becoming defiled is feeling. Clinging and refusing to release is craving. Pursuing it with all one’s strength is grasping. Grasping produces karma and is existence. Existence draws forth the later fruit of birth, aging, illness, and death, and the wheel of suffering does not stop. Thus the written graph is the basis of the twelve links.

If one can know graph to be nongraph, ignorance ceases and does not proceed to formations, all the way through not proceeding to aging-and-death. When ignorance ceases, aging-and-death ceases. The graph is therefore also the basis of pratyekabuddhas.

If one knows the graph as empty—not becoming empty only after being destroyed, but empty in nature—there is neither craving nor hatred within emptiness, and not even distorted or right. Since the graph is unobtainable, who is the person who knows it? Why do sentient beings mistakenly generate acceptance and rejection? One then arouses compassionate vows, practices the six perfections, aids sentient beings, and enters the limit of suchness, while no sentient being is actually delivered into extinction. Thus the written graph is the basis of bodhisattvas.

If one knows graph as nongraph and also knows that nongraph is not annihilative nonexistence, there is no inversion into either extreme. This is purity. With purity there is no karma, called self; with self there is no suffering, called bliss; with no suffering there is no cyclic existence, called permanence. Why? Graph is the conventional truth, nongraph the true truth, and nongraph that is not annihilative nongraph the one real truth. One truth is three truths and three truths one. This is the basis of objects.

If one knows a written graph as formed through the conjunction of paper, brush, mind, and hand, investigating each condition yields no independently existing graph, while investigating every dot likewise yields no complete graph. Precisely because there is no fixed attainment, there is nothing not attained. Mind and hand cannot be obtained as agents; with neither agent nor object, who is knower and what is known? This is the basis of all-wisdom.

Though a graph is not a fixed and truly existent graph, it still becomes graph from nongraph. From mind comes a dot, from the dot a graph, from graphs sentences, from sentences verses, from verses lines, from lines fascicles, from fascicles cases, from cases sections, from sections collections, and from collections diverse distinctions. This is the basis of wisdom of ways. Though neither truly existent graph nor annihilative nongraph, it simultaneously illuminates graph and nongraph. This is the basis of the knowledge of all modes.

The ascetic in the Snow Mountains relinquished the cherished body for eight graphs: this is the basis of practice. Understanding one sentence or half a sentence, seeing buddha-nature, and entering great nirvāṇa is the basis of stages. The Buddha attained complete awakening through hearing a sutra and exclaiming “Excellent!”; graphs are the basis of the vehicle. If someone forgets punctuation and phrasing, a bodhisattva restores fluency and gives samādhi and dhāraṇī; graphs are the basis of stimulus and response. Learning supernormal powers through text is the basis of supernormal power. Obtaining speech through graphs is the basis of teaching the Dharma. Teaching graphs to others is the basis of retinues. Diligently studying this graph—emolument lies within it—is the basis of benefit.

One who understands graphs in this way constantly reads the sutra without holding a fascicle, recites all scriptures without making a sound, constantly hears the Brahmā voice though the Buddha does not speak, and universally illuminates the Dharma realm without mental discrimination. Is such learning not vast? One should therefore know that black graphs are the basis of all dharmas. Blue, yellow, red, and white are likewise.

Nongraph is not annihilative nonexistence, but simultaneously illuminates graph and nongraph. The unspeakable does not cut off all speech, and the invisible does not cut off all seeing. What, then, is to be distinguished and what is not? What is included and what is not? What is relinquished and what is not? If one says “is,” all can be said to be; if one says “is not,” all can be said not to be. One can penetrate everything through black visible form and know that everything is not; not falling merely into penetration of everything, one is precisely able to penetrate everything. Transcending both “not” and “is,” one can see all dharmas as distorted and all dharmas as right.

If black visible form is not understood in this way, neither graph nor nongraph can be known. Yellow, white, red, and blue, and visible forms with and without resistance, cannot be known either. Penetrating black makes it possible to know the other colors in the same way. This is the intent of the Lotus Sutra in taking visible form as sutra.

Sound is the same. One sound can express one dharma, and the remaining cases follow the example of visible form. A person of sharp auditory faculties can understand craving, affective views, and dependent arising in sound and know sound as emptiness, provisional existence, and the Middle. The person knows lips, tongue, and teeth as unobtainable. Sound is nonsound, nonsound is sound, and both extremes of sound and nonsound are transcended. Sound can be the basis of teaching, practice, and meaning, and the various other meanings are as explained above. This is penetrating sutra as sound. Smell, taste, touch, and the rest are likewise.

The sutra says that all worldly livelihoods and productive activities do not contradict the true mark; this is the meaning. The six external entrances can all be sutra and pervade the Dharma realm; the six internal entrances and the entrances formed by inner and outer together are the same. A scripture says that liberation is not obtained only through inward contemplation, yet does not depart from inward contemplation. The rest can be understood accordingly. Penetrating one object penetrates all objects; though one sees neither a fixed single object nor fixed totality of objects, one still penetrates one and all. Within one consciousness one distinguishes all consciousnesses; though one sees neither one fixed consciousness nor all fixed consciousnesses, one penetrates one and all. With unobstructed freedom and great impartial wisdom, what is sutra and what is not? In a detailed account, every object and consciousness could be explained by the same model, woven first with translation, nontranslation, and the three meanings of teaching, practice, and principle, then concluded through the three contemplations.

XV. Distinguishing According to the Teachings without Leaving Writing

What is sutra can next be distinguished according to the teachings. If principle is said to transcend writing while writing is only conventional and merely entrusted with expressing principle, then principle can be sutra and writing is not. The six sense-objects and the rest express sutra but are not properly sutra. This is sutra in the Tripiṭaka Teaching.

If liberation cannot be explained apart from writing because writing’s nature is itself free, and if the six sense-objects are the true mark without duality or difference, as explained above, this is sutra in the Perfect Teaching. Teaching this while carrying three expedients is sutra in the Vaipulya; carrying two expedients is sutra in the Prajñā; and carrying one expedient is sutra in the Avataṃsaka.

XVI. Clarifying Sutra through Contemplating Mind: Gathering the First Four Approaches into One Mind

Fifth comes explaining sutra through contemplating mind, entirely following the model of the four approaches above.

First Model: Following Nontranslation

First it follows nontranslation. Mind contains wholesome minds, unwholesome minds, and all mental factors, so this single thought should be known as the confluence of dharmas and cannot be fixed as only one of them. If only evil were taken as mind, mind would not contain good or the other mental factors. If only good were taken as mind, it would not contain evil or the others. Since no one member can be identified as mind alone, the brief name “mind” stands for the whole. Even a brief reference to mind contains myriad dharmas; how could it fail to contain the five preceding meanings?

The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that within one mote of dust is a scripture-scroll as vast as a three-thousand-great-thousand world. This illustrates the meaning.

Mind is the basis of Dharma. The Treatise of the Great Perfection of Wisdom says that nothing in any world is not made from mind. Without mind there is no thought or awareness, and without these no language. Mind is therefore the basis of language.

Mind is the basis of practice. The Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra speaks of mind-activity, great activity, and pervasive activity. Volition is a mental factor and belongs to the aggregate of formations. All practices are established through the volitional mind, so mind is the basis of practice.

Mind is the basis of principle. Without mind, by whom would principle be contained? The initially aroused mind investigates principle. At first it is dim, as though on the verge of understanding; it then gradually enters resemblance and finally realizes the real. Mind is therefore the basis of principle.

Mind contains subtle emergence. The first momentary thought is extremely minute. The next seems to exist and then disappear. It gradually grows, finally becomes determinate, fills the mind, and emerges as speech. This is the subtle emergence of language. At first the mind trains in practice and the strength of practice is still weak; next it becomes slightly established; finally it becomes great practice. This is the subtle emergence of practice. At first, contemplation of mind does not see the principle within mind; continued cultivation gradually seems to accord, reaching resemblance and the real. This is the subtle emergence of principle.

Mind contains a gushing spring. Mind inherently possesses all dharmas but cannot let them flow because of obstructions, like a spring pressed under earth and stones. Remove the blockage and it gushes forth. Without contemplation, mind is dark and unclear and speech cannot be deep or sustained. When contemplation makes mind clear, expression and eloquence have no fixed boundary and flow beyond exhaustion: this is the gushing spring of language. Without contemplation, practice has interruptions; through contemplating mind, thought continues after thought, the six obscurations turn into the six perfections, and the six perfections encompass all practices: this is the gushing spring of practice. Contemplating mind is like digging with a sharp mattock through boulders, sand, and saline earth until the clear water of principle gushes without exhaustion: this is the gushing spring of meaning.

Mind contains a garland-thread. When contemplation is not mistaken from thought to thought, one obtains retention of what is heard and can thread written language without losing it. Contemplating mind obtains strength shared with concentration and threads practice without loss. It obtains strength shared with the path and threads meaning without loss. It also obtains concentration and wisdom and can adorn and reveal the Dharma-body. These can all be understood from the previous meanings.

Mind is also a carpenter’s line. Contemplating mind accomplishes right speech and leaves inverted and distorted discourse. When contemplation rectifies mind, it exhorts one to leave distorted action. When mind no longer clings to views, it enters right principle. Practical action is like the line and principled action like marking ink; together they snap straight the timber of craving and affective views and make a person a vessel of right Dharma.

This has taken mind as sutra and explained its plurality of meanings, briefly disclosing the fifteen.

Second Model: Following Translation

Next contemplation follows translation. Mind is the course: the three meanings of teaching, practice, and principle all proceed from mind. All language proceeds from a mind of awareness and observation; every practice from a volitional mind; and every principle from a mind of wisdom.

Mind is also warp and weft. Awareness is warp and observation weft, weaving language. The mind of wisdom-practice is warp and the mind of practice-practice weft, weaving the various practices. Mind engaging principle vertically is warp and engaging it horizontally weft, weaving principles. Alternatively, the object contemplated is warp and contemplative wisdom weft; observation turns and returns, weaving every pattern.

Mind is also accord. Contemplative wisdom accords with its object, thus according with conditions and also with sentient beings’ inclinations. Mind accords with teaching, with expedients and counteraction; it accords with practice and the ultimate truth; it accords with principle.

Mind is the basis of Dharma and mind is thread, as above. Mind is also the teaching of good speech. Dharma and speech can both be wholesome or unwholesome, and are here fixed as good Dharma and good speech. Mind and contemplation can likewise be wholesome or unwholesome and are here fixed as good mind and good contemplation. Mind therefore possesses the three meanings of the teaching of good speech, good practice, and good principle.

Mind is also a norm that can be followed. Without contemplation there are no rules or compass. Contemplation rectifies the mind-king; once the king is right, the mental factors are right. The same is true of practice and principle. When the mind-king accords with principle, the mental factors accord as well, and mind is called a norm.

Mind is also constant. Mind-nature is constantly settled like open space; who could destroy it? Unwholesome awareness cannot destroy wholesome awareness, distorted practice cannot interfere with right practice, and distorted principle cannot destroy right principle. Mind is therefore called constant.

In explaining each concrete affair, that very affair is turned toward mind and made contemplation. Contemplative wisdom matures like fire strengthened by fuel without contradicting the affair. Neither affair nor principle is lost. This is writing without fixed writing; it makes a separate contemplation without abandoning writing.

Third and Fourth Models: Harmonizing and Traversing All Dharmas of Mind

Third, contemplation follows the harmonization of translation and nontranslation. Its meaning can be understood from the preceding discussion.

Fourth, contemplation follows the traversal of dharmas. A lesser-vehicle account says there is no good in evil and no evil in good and likewise separates affair from principle. Evil mind would then not be sutra and could not contain multiple meanings, like a narrow road that cannot admit two people abreast.

Mahāyāna contemplation sees that an evil mind is not a fixed evil mind: it is evil and can itself be good, and it transcends fixed evil and good. It sees that a good mind is not fixed as good: it is good and can also disclose evil, and it transcends fixed good and evil. Contemplating one mind is three minds, and these three are then applied through all minds and all dharmas. What mind and what dharma is not one and three? All dharmas tend toward this mind, and all minds tend toward this Dharma.

Contemplated in this way, mind is the basis of all language, practice, and principle. Each of the five translated meanings and five untranslated meanings can be explained on mind without obstruction. Traversing all minds, none is not sutra. The general meaning can be grasped without further extensive record.