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Mantras Sanskrit |
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Sūtra 49 (posted 02/2015, updated 09/2015) Book information on Home page
Thus I have heard:
At one time the Bhagavān entered the great store of radiance and transcendental powers and abided in the right experience of samādhi.[1] Tathāgatas constantly abide in this radiant splendor, which is sentient beings’ [mind] ground of pure awareness. His body and mind remained in nirvāṇa, the state of equality [of all dharmas]. His enlightenment was perfect and pervaded everywhere in the ten directions. In unity with non-duality, He manifested pure Buddha Lands from the non-dual state.[2]
He was accompanied by 100,000 great Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas. At their head were Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra [Universal Worthiness] Bodhisattva, Universal Eye Bodhisattva, Vajra Store Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva, Hindrance-Free Awesome Virtue Bodhisattva, Discerning Sounds Bodhisattva, Removing Karma Hindrances[3] Bodhisattva, Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Perfect Enlightenment Bodhisattva, and Foremost in Worthiness and Goodness Bodhisattva. All of them and their retinues entered samādhi and abided in the Tathāgata’s impartial Dharma assembly.
At that time, in the midst of this multitude, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, I pray that, for the sake of the Dharma multitude[4] that has come to this assembly, You will expound a Tathāgata’s pure Dharma actions originating on the Cause Ground, teach Bodhisattvas to activate the pure mind and stay far away from faults[5] as they ride the Mahāyāna, and enable future sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age[6] who seek the Mahāyāna not to fall into the wrong views.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! Good man, for the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly, you ask about a Tathāgata’s Dharma actions on the Cause Ground, so that sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age who seek the Mahāyāna can stand firm, not to fall into the wrong views. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, the unsurpassed Dharma King has a great dhāraṇī door called Perfect Enlightenment, from which flow all pure Bodhisattva teachings on true suchness, bodhi, nirvāṇa, and the pāramitās. All Tathāgatas, [who take Dharma actions] originating on the Cause Ground, rely on the full illumination of pure awareness to end ignorance forever, in order to attain Buddha bodhi.
“What is ignorance? Good man, without a beginning, all sentient beings have held various inverted views.[7] Like a deluded person confusing the four directions, they mistake the four domains [earth, water, fire, and wind] for appearances of their bodies, and mistake the images of the six sense objects[8] for appearances of their minds. They are like someone with diseased eyes who sees flowers or a second moon in the sky. Good man, although there are no flowers in the sky, a sick person clings to his false perception. Because of his willful clinging, he is confused about the nature of the open sky, and about the real birthplace of the flowers he sees.[9] Thus he transmigrates through the illusory cycle of birth and death. Hence it is called ignorance.
“Good man, this ignorance has no reality. It is like a person seen in a dream, who seems real during dreaming, but cannot be captured upon waking. Likewise, when flowers disappear from the sky, it cannot be said that they have a definite place where they perish. Why? Because they have no birthplace.[10] All sentient beings mistakenly see birth and death of dharmas, which have neither birth nor death. This is called the cycle of birth and death.
“Good man, a Tathāgata on the Cause Ground trains to attain perfect enlightenment. He knows that there are no flowers in the sky, hence no cycle of birth and death. Nor are there body and mind that undergo birth and death. However, their nonexistence is not brought about by making certain efforts. They are nonexistent because they are empty by nature. One’s pure awareness is [free from objects], like the open sky, and one’s knowledge of the open sky is like a flower in the sky.[11] However, it cannot be said that one’s pure awareness is nonexistent. Only by discarding [perceptions of] existence and nonexistence can one be said to be in unity with one’s pure awareness. Why? Because pure awareness has the same nature as that of the open sky; because it is constantly motionless; because in the Tathāgata store[12] there is neither arising nor perishing; because it has neither knowledge nor views; because it is absolutely perfect and pervades everywhere in the ten directions as does the dharma realm. Therefore, it is called the Cause Ground, from which Dharma actions arise. Through this understanding, Bodhisattvas activate the pure mind as they ride the Mahāyāna. If sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age train according to this understanding, they will not fall into the wrong views.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Mañjuśrī, know that
All Tathāgatas, while training on the Cause Ground,
Use wisdom and pure awareness
To fully understand ignorance.
Knowing that ignorance is like a flower in the sky,
They free Themselves from transmigration [through repeated birth and death].
Ignorance is also like a person seen in a dream,
Who cannot be captured upon waking.
Pure awareness is like the open sky,
Impartial and motionless.
When one sees that it pervades everywhere in the ten directions,
One attains Buddha bodhi.
As illusions have no place where they perish,
Likewise attainment of bodhi is no attainment
Because one’s true nature[13] is already perfect.
Through this understanding,
Bodhisattvas can activate the bodhi mind.
If sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age train according to this understanding,
They can avoid falling into the wrong views.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, I pray that, for the sake of Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age who seek the Mahāyāna, You will expound how they should train after they have heard about the pure state of perfect enlightenment.
“World-Honored One, if someone understands that dharmas are like illusions, then he knows that his body and mind are also like illusions. How does he use one illusion to end another illusion? If all illusions end, there is no mind. Then who can do [spiritual] training? Why is it said that [spiritual] training is like an illusion? If sentient beings never do [spiritual] training and continue to live in illusions through their cycles of birth and death, they do not know that dharmas are like illusions. How can they liberate their deluded thinking minds? I pray that You will provide skillful means to all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age for them to train step by step, enabling them to turn away from illusions forever.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! Good man, for the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata to expound the Bodhisattva samādhi called the Illusion Samādhi, and the skillful means for sentient beings to train step by step, so that they can turn away from illusions. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, all sentient beings’ various illusions, like flowers appearing in the sky, arise from a Tathāgata’s perfectly enlightened wondrous mind,[14] When illusory flowers disappear, the sky remains motionless. A sentient being’s illusory mind ends through an illusion.[15] When all illusions end, one’s true mind with pure awareness remains motionless. However, enlightenment regarded as the opposite of illusion is still an illusion. Also, talking about the existence or nonexistence of enlightenment means that one has not left illusions behind. That is why the end of illusions is motionless.[16]
“Good man, all Bodhisattvas, and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, should turn far away from all illusions, which are false states, by holding the mind determined to turn away from them. One should turn away from the illusion-like [thinking] mind. Then one should turn away from the illusion of one’s turning away from illusions. Then one should turn away from the illusion of turning away from one’s turning away from illusions. When one finds nothing left to turn away from, all illusions end. As an analogy, one rubs two pieces of wood to produce fire. Fire goes out when the wood is burnt away, as ashes fly and smoke disappears. Using one illusion to end another illusion is similar. However, when illusions end, one’s pure awareness is not extinguished.
“Good man, turning away from an illusion as soon as one becomes aware of it does not require any skillful means. Turning away from illusion to enlightenment does not require a sequence of steps. All Bodhisattvas, and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, should train in this way, in order to turn away from illusions forever.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Samantabhadra, know that
All sentient beings
Have had illusory ignorance without a beginning.
It is established
On a Tathāgata’s perfectly enlightened mind.
Flowers seen in the open sky
Depend on the sky to display their appearances.
When the illusory flowers disappear,
The open sky remains motionless.
Although illusions arise from one’s pure awareness,
When illusions end, one’s pure awareness remains intact
Because it remains motionless.
All Bodhisattvas,
And all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age,
Should constantly turn far away from illusions
Until all illusions end.
Fire produced from wood
Goes out when the wood is burnt away.
Enlightenment requires neither skillful means
Nor a sequence of steps.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Universal Eye Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, for the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, I pray that you will expound a Bodhisattva’s training steps, how he should do the right thinking,[17] where he should abide, and what skillful means he can use to enable unenlightened sentient beings to come to enlightenment.
“World-Honored One, if sentient beings do not have the right skillful means and do not do the right thinking, when they hear the Tathāgata expound the Illusion Samādhi, they will be bewildered. Then they cannot attain perfect enlightenment. I pray that You will elicit lovingkindness and compassion, and expound the pretend skillful means[18] to us and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Universal Eye Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! Good man, for the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata how they should train step by step, what right thinking they should do, where they should abide, and ask the Tathāgata to expound what pretend skillful means they can use. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Universal Eye Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, if novice Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, seek to acquire a Tathāgata’s perfectly enlightened pure mind, they should mindfully turn far away from illusions. They should practice a Tathāgata’s śamatha [mental stillness], rigorously observe the precepts, and settle down their students. Sitting in meditation in a quiet room, they each should constantly think, ‘My body is an assemblage of the four domains [earth, water, fire, and wind]. Its hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, brain, and colors belong to earth; its spit, pus, blood, sweat, saliva, phlegm, tears, secretions, feces, and urine belong to water; its warmth belongs to fire; its motion belongs to wind. When the four domains disassemble, where is my illusory body?’
“Then they will realize that the body has no reality, but is merely the appearance of an assemblage. It is actually an illusion because it is a false assemblage of four conditions [the four domains], with six illusory faculties. Then it is an assemblage of the four domains inside and the six faculties outside. It has an illusory energy flow gathered inside through conditions, which seems to have the appearance [of mental activities] arising through conditions. This appearance has a false name, the mind. Good man, the false mind cannot exist without the six sense objects.[19] However, when the four domains disassemble, the sense objects perish. When the four domains disassemble and the sense objects perish, this false mind, which arises through conditions, cannot be found.
“Good man, for a sentient being, when the illusory body perishes, the illusory mind perishes. When the illusory mind perishes, the illusory sense objects perish. When the illusory sense objects perish, the illusory perishing [of illusions] perishes. However, when the illusory perishing perishes, what is not an illusion does not perish. As an analogy, when the filth on a mirror is wiped off, the mirror’s clarity is revealed. Good man, know that one’s body and mind are illusory filth. When the appearance of filth ends forever, purity pervades everywhere in the ten directions.
“Good man, as an analogy, a precious pure jewel can emit radiance in any of the five colors,[20] in a given direction. Yet fools think that the jewel actually has these five colors. Good man, likewise one’s perfect pure awareness can manifest the body and mind of a sentient being of any kind [according to one’s karma]. Yet fools say that one’s perfect pure awareness really has the appearance of body and mind. Hence they cannot turn far away from illusions. That is why I say that one’s body and mind are illusory filth. Whoever remedies his [disease of having] illusory filth and turns away from it is called a Bodhisattva. When the illusory filth is completely removed, its remedy[21] is discarded. Then there is no illusion, [illusory] remedy, or [false] name.
“Good man, when the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age succeed in ending the images of illusions, they acquire purity, unrestricted to any direction, like the boundless open sky revealed by enlightenment. Because their enlightenment is perfect and radiant, it reveals the purity of one’s mind. Because one’s mind is pure, eye objects [sights] are pure; because eye objects are pure, eye faculty is pure; because eye faculty is pure, eye consciousness is pure. Because one’s consciousness is pure, ear objects [sounds] are pure; because ear objects are pure, ear faculty is pure; because ear faculty is pure, ear consciousness is pure. It is the same with one’s nose, tongue, body, and mind.[22] In all, because one’s consciousness is pure, the objects of one’s perception are pure.
“Good man, because the six sense objects are pure, the domain of earth is pure; because the domain of earth is pure, the domain of water is pure. It is the same with the domains of fire and wind. Good man, because the four domains are pure, one’s twelve fields and eighteen spheres, and the twenty-five forms of existence are pure. Because these are pure, a Buddha’s Ten Powers, Four Fearlessnesses, Four Kinds of Unimpeded Wisdom-Knowledge, and Eighteen Exclusive Dharmas are pure. Then the Thirty-seven Aids to Attain Bodhi[23] are pure, and even 84,000 dhāraṇī doors are pure.
“Good man, because the true reality of all dharmas is purity, one body is pure; because one body is pure, multiple bodies are pure;[24] because multiple bodies are pure, all sentient beings [in worlds] in the ten directions with [inherent] perfect awareness are pure. Good man, because one world is pure, multiple worlds are pure; because multiple worlds are pure, all worlds in the domain of space throughout the three time frames [past, present, and future] are pure, equal, and motionless.
“Good man, as the open sky is the same [everywhere] and motionless, likewise one’s pure awareness is the same [in everyone] and motionless. As the four domains are the same [in their emptiness] and motionless, likewise one’s pure awareness is the same [in everyone] and motionless. As the 84,000 dhāraṇī doors are the same [in their emptiness] and motionless, likewise one’s pure awareness is the same [in everyone] and motionless.
“Good man, as one’s pure awareness is pervasive, pure, motionless, perfect, and boundless, so one’s six faculties pervade the dharma realm. As one’s six faculties pervade the dharma realm, so do their corresponding sense objects. As one’s six sense objects pervade the dharma realm, so do the four domains. Likewise, even all dhāraṇī doors pervade the dharma realm.
“Good man, because one’s pure awareness pervades everywhere, one’s six faculties and their corresponding sense objects neither impair nor mingle with one another. As one’s six faculties and their corresponding sense objects neither impair nor mingle with one another, likewise the dhāraṇī doors neither impair nor mingle with one another. They are like the beams of pervasive light emitted by 100,000 lamps in one room, which neither impair nor mingle with one another.
“Good man, because of attainment of enlightenment, a Bodhisattva is neither constrained nor unconstrained by dharmas. He neither detests saṁsāra nor loves nirvāṇa. He neither esteems whoever observes the precepts nor resents whoever violates the precepts. He neither values longtime spiritual trainees nor disparages novice spiritual trainees. Why? Because everything is [a manifestation of] pure awareness. As an analogy, the eye shines on [i.e., perceives] objects. Its shine is perfect, free from love and hate. Why? Because light is non-dual, free from love and hate.
“Good man, among the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, those who cultivate their minds and come to attainment know that there is neither training nor attainment, because perfect awareness illuminates everywhere, and is in nirvāṇa and free from duality. They see that Buddha Lands as numerous as the sands of ineffable billions of koṭis of asaṁkhyeyas of Ganges Rivers are like flowers in the sky, chaotically arising and perishing. They understand that worlds are neither the same as nor apart from perfect awareness, and that sentient beings have neither bondage nor liberation. Then they come to know that sentient beings by nature are Buddhas, and that saṁsāra and nirvāṇa are like last night’s dream. Good man, like last night’s dream, saṁsāra and nirvāṇa neither arise nor cease, neither come nor go.[25] What is verified is neither a gain nor a loss, and requires neither taking nor discarding something. The verifier does not do anything, does not let things be, does not stop his thoughts, and does not end his afflictions.[26] In the process of verifying [one’s pure awareness], there is neither subject nor object, neither verifier nor verification, because all dharmas have the same nature and are indestructible [in their emptiness].
“Good man, Bodhisattvas should train in this way, progress step by step in this way, ponder in this way, abide in this way, use skillful means in this way, and come to realization in this way. When they request this teaching, they are not bewildered.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Universal Eye, know that,
For all sentient beings,
The body and mind are like illusions.
The body is an assemblage of the four domains.
The mind arises from the six sense objects.
When the four domains disassemble,
Who is an assemblage of them?
Training step by step to observe in this way,
One verifies that everything is pure and motionless,
And pervades the dharma realm [as does one’s pure awareness].
[In the process of verification] one does not do anything, does not let things be, does not stop one’s thoughts, and does not end one’s afflictions,
And there is no verifier.
All Buddha Lands
Are like flowers in the open sky.
The three time frames are equal,
Neither coming nor going.
If newly resolved Bodhisattvas,
And sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age,
Seek to attain Buddha bodhi,
They should train in this way.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Vajra Store Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, for the sake of all Bodhisattvas, to remove their ignorance, You have well expounded the purity of a Tathāgata’s perfect enlightenment, the great dhāraṇī, the Dharma actions on the Cause Ground, and the skillful means to train step by step. All in this Dharma multitude in this assembly, after receiving the Buddha’s teachings, have cleared away the illusory film covering their eyes and acquired the pure wisdom eye.
“World-Honored One, if sentient beings are by nature Buddhas, why do they have ignorance? If they have always had ignorance, why does the Tathāgata say that they are by nature Buddhas? If sentient beings are originally Buddhas, and ignorance arises in them later, then when will all afflictions arise in Tathāgatas? I pray that You will elicit unreserved great compassion, open the secret store to Bodhisattvas, and enable all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to hear in this sūtra the Dharma Door of definitive meaning, so that they will eliminate their doubts and regrets forever.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Vajra Store Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! For the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata for the profound, secret, and ultimate skillful means, which are the supreme Bodhisattva teachings of definitive meaning in the Mahāyāna doctrine. They can enable Bodhisattvas in training [in worlds] in the ten directions and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to acquire unwavering faith and eliminate their doubts and regrets forever. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Vajra Store Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, thought after thought, all worlds undergo cycles of beginning and ending, formation and destruction, before and after, existence and nonexistence, convergence and divergence, and starting and stopping. Thought after thought, a sentient being repeatedly grasps or discards something, in the way of saṁsāra. To describe perfect enlightenment before one has transcended saṁsāra is to place perfect enlightenment in the perspective of saṁsāra, because it is impossible to avoid the way of saṁsāra. As an analogy, the moving eye sees still water moving; the sluggish eye sees a wheel of fire when a torch is whirled. One sees the moon moving because the cloud is moving, and sees the river bank moving because the boat is moving. As all things revolve without rest, it is impossible to make something stop revolving, not to mention one’s deluded mind that transmigrates through one’s cycle of birth of death. Because it has never been purified, it cannot help revolving as usual[27] even if it observes a Buddha’s pure enlightenment. That is why all of you have the three confusions [addressed by Vajra Store Bodhisattva’s three questions].
“Good man, as an analogy, one sees flowers in the sky because of the illusory film that covers one’s eyes. If this illusory film is removed, one should not ask, ‘After this film has perished, when will other films arise?’ Why not? Because the film and the flowers are both illusions, not opposite to each other. Likewise, when the flowers disappear from the sky, one should not ask when other flowers will appear in the sky. Why not? Because the sky never has any flowers, which neither arise nor perish. Thus saṁsāra and nirvāṇa parallel the arising and perishing of the flowers.[28] In the perfect illumination of one’s wondrous awareness, there is neither film nor flowers.[29]
“Good man, as the open sky is neither temporarily existent nor temporarily nonexistent, likewise is a Tathāgata’s perfect enlightenment. It remains the same, like the open sky. Good man, attaining perfect enlightenment is like smelting ores to extract gold. The existence of gold is not caused by the smelting of ores. The extracted gold will never become ore again. Because gold is indestructible for an immeasurable timespan, one should not say that it was not gold before its extraction. Likewise is a Tathāgata’s perfect enlightenment.
“Good man, in the wondrous perfectly enlightened minds of all Tathāgatas, there is neither bodhi nor nirvāṇa, neither attaining Buddhahood nor not attaining Buddhahood, neither saṁsāra nor non-saṁsāra.
“Good man, in the state attained by voice-hearers, [all activities of] their body, mind, and speech cease. They cannot even reach the state of nirvāṇa that they have verified. Much less can they use their thinking mind to measure the state of a Tathāgata’s perfect enlightenment. Such an attempt would be like using a small fire, like a firefly’s glow, to burn Mount Sumeru. It can never set the mountain on fire. Likewise one can never succeed in entering a Tathāgata’s ocean of great nirvāṇa by using the saṁsāric mind with its saṁsāric views. That is why I say that all Bodhisattvas, and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, should first cut off the root of saṁsāra, which has no beginning.
“Good man, all thinking about doing something arises from the existent mind, which is conditioned upon the six sense objects and dependent on one’s energy flow. It is not the true mind, but is like a flower in the sky. Using saṁsāric thinking to discern a Buddha’s state is like a flower in the sky bearing fruit in the sky. There is nothing right about entertaining successive deluded thoughts.
“Good man, the flighty false mind with cunning views cannot produce the skillful means to attain perfect enlightenment. Questions raised through differentiation are not the right questions.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Vajra Store, know that
The nirvāṇa of a Tathāgata
Has neither a beginning nor an end.
If one uses the saṁsāric mind to ponder,
One will revolve in deluded thinking.
One will remain in saṁsāra,
Unable to enter the Buddha ocean.
Gold is extracted by smelting ores,
But its existence is not brought about by the smelting of ores.
Although the gold is already existent,
It must be obtained through the smelting of ores.
Once obtained,
Gold will never become ore again.
Saṁsāra, nirvāṇa,
Ordinary beings, and Buddhas
Are all like flowers in the sky.
Even one’s thinking is illusory,
Not to mention false questions,
If one can understand one’s mind,
Then one can seek perfect enlightenment.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Maitreya Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, You have opened wide the secret store to Bodhisattvas and enabled this multitude to acquire a profound understanding of the cycle of birth and death and to differentiate between right and wrong. You have given all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age the fearless bodhi eye and enabled them to have unwavering faith in the great nirvāṇa and no longer to follow saṁsāric states and hold saṁsāric views.
“World-Honored One, if Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, want to sail a Tathāgata’s ocean of great nirvāṇa, why do they have to cut off the root of saṁsāra? How many character-types [of sentient beings] are in transmigration? What are the different levels of training to attain Buddha bodhi? [For a Bodhisattva] to circulate in a world laden with afflictions, what teachings and skillful means should he use to deliver sentient beings? I pray that You will not abandon Your great compassion and Your vow to save the world, but will enable all Bodhisattvas in training and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to purify their wisdom eye, to illuminate their mind mirror, and to acquire a perfect understanding of a Tathāgata’s unsurpassed knowledge and views.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Maitreya Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! For the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata about the abstruse, secret, and subtle meaning that can enable Bodhisattvas to purify their wisdom eye, and can enable all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to end forever their transmigrations through their cycles of birth and death, to realize the true reality of dharmas, and to have endurance in their realization that dharmas have no birth. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Maitreya Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, without a beginning, all sentient beings have had various kinds of love, greed, and desire. Hence they transmigrate through their cycles of birth and death. All sentient beings, whether born through an egg, a womb, moisture, or miraculous formation, acquire their lives through sexual desire, so you know that love is the root of saṁsāra. Desires induce love, and birth and death to continue. Desire is born from love, and life is born from desire. The root of a sentient being’s love of life is desire. Love and desire are the cause, and love of life is the effect. Pursuing desire objects, one encounters agreeable or disagreeable situations. Whatever goes against what one loves triggers hatred or jealousy. Then one does evil karma and will be reborn in hell or as a hungry ghost. If someone knows that desire is loathsome, loves his aversion to doing evil karma, and discards evil and delights in goodness, he will be reborn as a god or human. However, even if someone knows that various kinds of love are loathsome, relinquishes love, and delights in equability, he is still nurturing love, the root of saṁsāra, though he will receive a higher requital subject to causes and conditions. These are [different paths of] transmigration, not the holy path. Therefore, whoever wants to liberate himself from transmigrating through birth and death should first end his greedy desire [rāga][30] and thirsty love [tṛṣṇā] of being.
“Good man, when a Bodhisattva manifests his appearance in the world, his birth does not come from love. Out of lovingkindness and compassion, to enable sentient beings to relinquish love, he enters birth and death by using greedy desire as a skillful means. If sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age can discard desires and end love and hate, in order to end forever their cycles of birth and death, and if they diligently seek a Tathāgata’s state of perfect enlightenment, they will awaken to their inherent pure minds.
“Good man, all sentient beings, based on their greedy desire, reveal their ignorance, strong or weak, and manifest as five different character-types [gotra] according to their two kinds of hindrances, . What are these two kinds? The first is hindrances to principle, which hinder acquiring the right knowledge and views. The second is hindrances of things, which make one’s birth and death continue.[31]
“What are the five character-types?[32] Good man, whoever has not removed these two kinds of hindrances is not called a Buddha. To discard greedy desire forever, a sentient being should first remove the hindrances of things. A spiritual trainee who has not yet removed the hindrances to principle can enter the state of a voice-hearer or Pratyekabuddha, though he cannot abide in the state of a Bodhisattva.
“Good man, if all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age want to sail a Tathāgata’s ocean of great perfect enlightenment, they should first vow to remove these two kinds of hindrances. When both kinds of hindrances have been contained, they can enter a Bodhisattva’s state. When both kinds of hindrances have been removed forever, they forthwith enter a Tathāgata’s wondrous perfect enlightenment, in fulfillment of bodhi and the great nirvāṇa.
“Good man, all sentient beings can attain perfect enlightenment. If they encounter a beneficent learned friend and follow him to take Dharma actions on the Cause Ground, they can come to enlightenment immediately or gradually through training. If they come upon the right training path to a Tathāgata’s unsurpassed bodhi, all of them, whether of large or small capacity, can attain Buddhahood. Although sentient beings seek a beneficent learned friend, they may encounter a teacher with the wrong views, and cannot come to the right realization. They are called the non-Buddhist [tīrthika] character-type. However, this is the evil teacher’s fault, not their fault. Therefore, the five character-types of sentient beings are different.
“Good man, a Bodhisattva uses great compassion and skillful means to enter the world to develop the unenlightened. He even manifests various shapes and forms, and favorable and unfavorable situations, and uses the Four Drawing-in Dharmas, such as doing collaborative work, to enable ordinary beings to attain Buddhahood. He relies on the power of his pure vows made without a beginning. If all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age activate the upward-striving mind to attain perfect enlightenment, they should make the great pure Bodhisattva vow. They should say, ‘I vow to abide in a Buddha’s perfect enlightenment, to seek a beneficent learned friend, and not to encounter non-Buddhists or riders of the Two Vehicles.’ If they train according to this vow, they will gradually remove all hindrances. When all hindrances are removed, their vow is fulfilled. They will ascend to the Dharma hall of liberation and attain the great perfect enlightenment in the wondrous majestic realm.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Maitreya, know that
All sentient beings,
Because of greedy desire,
Do not achieve the great liberation
But remain in the cycle of birth and death.
They should end love and hate,
As well as greed, anger, and delusion [the affliction hindrances].
When both kinds of hindrances have been ended forever,
All of them will attain Buddha bodhi,
Regardless of their different character-types.
They should seek a good teacher to guide them to the right realization,
And should carry out their Bodhisattva vows
And rely on the great nirvāṇa.
Bodhisattvas [in worlds] in the ten directions
Follow their great compassionate vows
To manifest entering birth and death.
If those in training at present
And all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age
Diligently end their love and views,[33]
They will attain the great perfect enlightenment.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, for our sake, you have broadly expounded such inconceivable things, never before seen, never before heard. Through the Buddha’s good guidance, we have received great benefits, and our bodies and minds have become tranquil. I pray that, for the sake of the Dharma multitude that has come to this assembly, You will again expound the nature of a Dharma King’s perfect enlightenment, explain the differences in what is verified and attained by sentient beings, Bodhisattvas, and Tathāgata-Bhagavāns, and enable all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to hear Your holy teachings, follow them to realization, and gradually enter [a Buddha’s state].”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! For sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata about the differences in the training steps. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, the nature of perfect enlightenment is no nature.[34] Yet all sentient beings have it. It is revealed in different natures [such as the five character-types], but is not something one can grasp or attain. In true reality, there are neither Bodhisattvas nor sentient beings. Why not? Because Bodhisattvas and sentient beings are illusory appearances. When illusions end, there is neither grasper nor attainer [of perfect enlightenment]. As an analogy, although the eye cannot see itself,[35] its nature is impartial [free from subject and object], and there is no one who makes it impartial. Although sentient beings are deluded and unable to remove all illusions, their illusory effort to end illusions manifests as various trainings.[36] If they train in accord with a Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa, they will see that there is neither nirvāṇa nor anyone in nirvāṇa.
“Good man, without a beginning, all sentient beings have imagined that everyone has a self, and have loved this self, not knowing that their thoughts arise and perish, one after another. Then love and hate arise in them, and they indulge in the five desires. If they encounter a beneficent learned friend who teaches them to awaken to their perfect pure awareness and to realize that their thoughts arise and perish, then they will know that their lives are laden with their fatiguing thinking. If someone ends his fatiguing thinking forever, he will acquire the purity of the dharma realm. However, his understanding of purity is his hindrance, and he feels ill at ease with perfect enlightenment [which is beyond purity and impurity]. This is how an ordinary being accords with the nature of enlightenment.
“Good man, a Bodhisattva’s hindrance is his views and understandings. Although he has ended his attachment to his understandings, he still abides in his views of enlightenment. Hindered by his views, he feels ill at ease with perfect enlightenment. This is how a Bodhisattva not yet on any Bodhisattva ground[37] accords with the nature of enlightenment.
“Good man, both perception and awareness are hindrances. A Bodhisattva is constantly aware but abides in nothing, because both perception and perceiver are in nirvāṇa. As an analogy, suppose that someone chops off his own head. When the head is chopped off, the chopper is no more. Likewise one uses the mind that perceives hindrances to remove the hindrances perceived. When these hindrances are removed, the remover is no more. The teachings in sūtras are like a finger pointing at the moon. When one sees the moon, one knows that the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. Likewise a Tathāgata uses words to indicate [the truth] to Bodhisattvas. This is how a Bodhisattva on a Bodhisattva ground accords with the nature of enlightenment.
“Good man, all hindrances are [manifestations of one’s] absolute awareness. Both achieving mindfulness and losing mindfulness are liberation; both following the Dharma and maligning the Dharma are in nirvāṇa; both intelligence and stupidity are prajñā [wisdom]; both attainments of a Bodhisattva and attainments of a non-Buddhist are bodhi. Ignorance and true suchness are the same state. Observing the precepts, doing meditation, and developing wisdom, as well as entertaining greed, anger, and delusion, are the Brahma way of life. Sentient beings and worlds have the same dharma nature. Both hells and heavens are Pure Lands. Both those with [the holy] nature and those without [the holy] nature[38] attain Buddha bodhi. All afflictions are the ultimate liberation. The ocean-like wisdom in the dharma realm illuminates all appearances like the open sky. This is how a Tathāgata accords with the nature of enlightenment.
“Good man, the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age should, at no time, arouse or block their thoughts, try to understand their thinking state, or try to determine whether what they do not understand is true or false. If someone, after hearing this Dharma Door, without shock or fear believes in and understands it, and accepts and upholds it, he is in accord with the nature of enlightenment. Good man, know that he has made offerings to Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of a billion koṭi Ganges Rivers, and planted roots of goodness. I say that he will acquire the knowledge of all wisdom-knowledge.[39]”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Pure Wisdom, know that
When one has fully realized the nature of bodhi,
One knows that there is nothing to grasp or attain,
Nor are there Bodhisattvas or sentient beings.
From before-enlightenment to enlightenment,
There are differences in training steps.
Ordinary beings are hindered by their understandings,
Bodhisattvas [not yet on any Bodhisattva ground] have not discarded their attachment to their perceptions.
Bodhisattvas on a Bodhisattva ground realize that all perceptions are in nirvāṇa,
And they do not abide in any appearances.
When one fully attains great enlightenment,
It is called a pervasive accord [with one’s pure awareness].
If sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age
Do not produce delusions in their minds,
I say that
They, in their present life, are already Bodhisattvas,
Because they have made offerings to Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges
And completed their accumulation of merits.
Although there are multiple skillful means in the Dharma,
All of them are in accord with wisdom-knowledge.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Hindrance-Free Awesome Virtue Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, You have broadly explained to us different ways to accord with the nature of enlightenment and made Bodhisattvas’ minds with pure awareness radiant. After hearing the Buddha’s perfect tones, we have received benefits not brought by our training. World-Honored One, as an analogy, a great city has four outer gates for those coming from the four directions. As there is more than one road to the city, likewise there is more than one skillful means for Bodhisattvas to adorn Buddha Lands and attain bodhi.
“I pray that the World-Honored One will broadly expound to us the number of different kinds of spiritual trainees, and all skillful means and training steps that will enable the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age who seek the Mahāyāna to quickly come to awakening, and to playfully cruise in a Tathāgata’s ocean of great nirvāṇa.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Hindrance-Free Awesome Virtue Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! For sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata for skillful means. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Hindrance-Free Awesome Virtue Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, the unsurpassed wondrous awareness pervades everywhere in the ten directions and gives rise to Tathāgatas[40] and all dharmas. As all dharmas are equal in their true nature, there are no different trainings. However, skillful means in accord with pure awareness are countless. Among them, three can accommodate all sentient beings of different natures.
“Good man, suppose that a Bodhisattva has awakened to his perfect awareness and uses it to quiet his body and mind. Because he has settled his thoughts, he can even see the commotion of his perceptual consciousness. When wisdom arises from this quietness, henceforth [his attachment to] the dust-like [appearances of his] body and mind ends forever. As quietness arises from within, he experiences lightness and peace. In this quietness, the minds of Tathāgatas in worlds in the ten directions are revealed [in his mind], like reflections in a mirror. This skillful means is called śamatha.
“Good man, suppose a Bodhisattva has awakened to his perfect awareness and uses it to know that his conscious mind, and his faculties and their corresponding sense objects, by nature are illusions. He manifests illusions to remove his illusions and to illuminate illusory multitudes.[41] Because he manifests illusions [to benefit sentient beings], his great compassion arises from within, and he experiences lightness and peace. When a Bodhisattva trains in this way, at first he progresses gradually, because he sees that the observer of illusions is different from the illusions. When he realizes that the observer of illusions is also an illusion, all appearances of illusions end forever. This wonderful training that Bodhisattvas should perfect is like a seedling growing from the earth. This skillful means is called samāpatti.
“Good man, suppose that a Bodhisattva has awakened to his perfect awareness, and uses it not to grasp the appearances of quietness [in śamatha] and illusions [in samāpatti]. He knows that his body and mind are hindrances. However, the radiance of his pure awareness is free from knowing and perceiving, and beyond hindrances. Thus he forever transcends the states of hindrance and no hindrance, the world he enjoys, and his body and mind, though he appears to be in the world of sense objects. As the sound of a bell carries far, unhindered by the bell,[42] likewise the radiance of his pure awareness illuminates everywhere, unhindered by afflictions and nirvāṇa. Then nirvāṇa arises from within, and he experiences lightness and peace. One’s wondrous awareness in accord with the state of nirvāṇa is beyond anyone’s false perception that his body and mind constitute a self, a person, a sentient being, and a lifespan.[43] This skillful means is called dhyāna.[44]
“Good man, these three Dharma Doors accord with and are close to perfect enlightenment. Through them, Tathāgatas [in worlds] in the ten directions attain Buddhahood. Various skillful means, whether the same or different, used by Bodhisattvas [in worlds] in the ten directions, conform to these three dharmas. When a Bodhisattva perfects his training in them, he attains perfect enlightenment. Good man, if someone trains on a holy path and teaches a billion koṭi people, enabling them to become Arhats or Pratyekabuddhas, he cannot compare with whoever hears this hindrance-free Dharma Door of perfect enlightenment and trains accordingly for only one kṣaṇa [instant].”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Awesome Virtue, know that
One’s unsurpassed great mind with pure awareness
Is the non-dual true state,
And skillful means in accord with it
Are countless.
The Tathāgata reveals
Three skillful means.
In the quietness arising from śamatha,
One’s mind is like a mirror displaying reflections.
[One’s training in] samāpatti to produce manifestations
Is like a seedling growing gradually.
The nirvāṇa arising from dhyāna
Is like the hindrance-free sound emitted by a bell.
These three wondrous Dharma Doors
Are in accord with enlightenment.
Tathāgatas and great Bodhisattvas in worlds in the ten directions
Attain bodhi through these doors.
One’s perfection of all these three trainings
Is called the ultimate attainment of nirvāṇa.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Discerning Sounds Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, these Dharma Doors are rare. World-Honored One, how many ways are there for Bodhisattvas to use these three skillful means [śamatha, samāpatti, and dhyāna] to enter the door of perfect enlightenment? I pray that, for the sake of this multitude and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, You will at Your convenience expound these ways, enabling all to realize the true reality of dharmas.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
The World-Honored One said to Discerning Sounds Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! Good man, for the sake of this multitude and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata about how to train. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Discerning Sounds Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “A Tathāgata’s perfect enlightenment is pure, and there is neither training nor anyone training to attain it. However, all Bodhisattvas and sentient beings before their enlightenment can use the power of illusion to train. Then there are twenty-five pure meditation wheels:
(1) Suppose that a Bodhisattva trains only to achieve the utmost quietness of his mind and, through the power of quietness, he eventually succeeds in ending his afflictions forever. Without rising from his seat, he enters nirvāṇa. This Bodhisattva trains only in śamatha.
(2) Suppose that a Bodhisattva observes only [that dharmas are] illusions and, through a Buddha’s power, manifests worlds and things [to benefit others]. As he takes the full range of wonderful pure Bodhisattva actions, through the power of retention, he does not lose his mindfulness and wisdom arising from quietness. This Bodhisattva trains only in samāpatti.
(3) Suppose that a Bodhisattva trains only to end illusions and does not utilize their functions [to benefit others], because his sole purpose is to end his afflictions. After his afflictions have completely ended, he realizes the true reality of dharmas. This Bodhisattva trains only in dhyāna.
(4) Suppose that a Bodhisattva reaches utmost quietness, and uses his quiet wisdom mind to illuminate illusions, through which arise his Bodhisattva actions. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha, then in samāpatti.
(5) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses his quiet wisdom to realize his quiet nature, and ends his afflictions, leaving behind his cycle of birth and death forever. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha, then in dhyāna.
(6) Suppose that a Bodhisattva acquires quiet wisdom, uses the power of illusion to manifest various things to deliver sentient beings, and ends his afflictions and enters nirvāṇa. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha, then in samāpatti, then in dhyāna.
(7) Suppose that a Bodhisattva acquires the power of utmost quietness, ends his afflictions, and takes wonderful pure Bodhisattva actions to deliver sentient beings. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha, then in dhyāna, then in samāpatti.
(8) Suppose that a Bodhisattva acquires the power of utmost quietness, and ends his afflictions as he delivers sentient beings to establish the world. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha, then in dhyāna and samāpatti together.
(9) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of utmost quietness to support his manifestations, and ends his afflictions. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha and samāpatti together, then in dhyāna.
(10) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of utmost quietness to support his entrance into nirvāṇa, and functions to manifest various states. This Bodhisattva trains first in śamatha and dhyāna together, then in samāpatti.
(11) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to deliver sentient beings according to their different capacities, and enters utmost quietness. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti, then in śamatha.
(12) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to manifest various things, and enters nirvāṇa. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti, then in dhyāna.
(13) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to do Buddha work, abides in quietness, and ends his afflictions. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti, then in śamatha, then in dhyāna.
(14) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to function hindrance free, ends his afflictions, and abides in quietness. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti, then in dhyāna, then in śamatha.
(15) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to function by skillful means, and accords with quietness and nirvāṇa. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti, then in śamatha and dhyāna together.
(16) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to function in support of utmost quietness, and ends his afflictions. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti and śamatha together, then in dhyāna.
(17) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of illusion to support his attainment of nirvāṇa, and abides in pure, action-free quiet meditation. This Bodhisattva trains first in samāpatti and dhyāna together, then in śamatha.
(18) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa, and reaches utmost quietness to abide in purity. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna, then in śamatha.
(19) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa, and functions quietly according to different situations. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna, then in samāpatti.
(20) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa to reveal the true nature of dharmas, abides in quiet meditation, and produces manifestations. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna, then in śamatha, then in samāpatti.
(21) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa to reveal the action-free dharma nature, functions in pure states, and settles down in quiet meditation. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna, then in samāpatti, then in śamatha.
(22) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa to reveal various purities, and abides in quiet meditation as he produces manifestations. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna, then in śamatha and samāpatti together.
(23) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa to support utmost quietness, and produces manifestations. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna and śamatha together, then in samāpatti.
(24) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses the power of nirvāṇa to support his manifestations, and enters utmost quietness and radiant wisdom. This Bodhisattva trains first in dhyāna and samāpatti together, then in śamatha.
(25) Suppose that a Bodhisattva uses his perfect wisdom mind to unite all dharmas and realizes that the nature and appearances of dharmas are never apart from the nature of pure awareness. This Bodhisattva fully trains in these three meditations [śamatha, samāpatti, and dhyāna] in accord with
the purity of dharma nature.
“Good man, these are a Bodhisattva’s twenty-five meditation wheels. All Bodhisattvas train in this way. If Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, rely on these wheels, they should lead the Brahma way of life, abide in quietness and ponder, and earnestly repent [of their sins] for twenty-one days. Then they should put marks on these twenty-five wheels, pray with an earnest mind, and casually draw lots. Then they should train according to the wheel drawn by lot. However, with even one thought of doubt or regret, they will not come to attainment.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Discerning Sounds, know that
For all Bodhisattvas,
Hindrance-free pure wisdom
Arises from meditation.
Thus they train in śamatha,
Samāpatti, and dhyāna.
To train in these three meditations quickly or gradually,
There are twenty-five ways.
Tathāgatas [in worlds] in the ten directions
And spiritual trainees in the three time frames
Rely on these dharmas
To attain bodhi,
Except those who immediately come to enlightenment
And those who do not follow the Dharma.
All Bodhisattvas,
And all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age,
Should constantly hold these wheels
And train accordingly with diligence.
Through a Buddha’s power of great compassion,
They will soon attain nirvāṇa.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Removing Karma Hindrances Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, You have broadly explained to us inconceivable things [such as the twenty-five meditation wheels], which are a Tathāgata’s [Dharma] actions on the Cause Ground. You have enabled all in this multitude to gain what they never before had and to see that all efforts of the Tamer of Men,[45] who underwent hardships for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, are like one thought. We Bodhisattvas deeply feel fortunate and comforted.
“World-Honored One, if sentient beings’ awareness is pure by nature, what taints have made them confused and blocked, unable to enter it? I pray that the Tathāgata will awaken us to dharma nature and enable this multitude and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age to become the future eye.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Removing Karma Hindrances Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! For the sake of this multitude and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata about such skillful means. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Removing Karma Hindrances Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, without a beginning, all sentient beings have been attached to the four appearances [i.e., the four false self-images]: (1) [an autonomous] self, (2) a person, (3) a sentient being, and (4) [a living being with] a lifespan.[46] They regard these four false self-images as the reality of their body and mind. Founded on this delusion, love and hate as two states arise in their minds, forming another delusion. These two mutually dependent delusions produce the false karmic path. Doing false karma, they falsely see their transmigration [through birth and death]. Those tired of transmigration falsely see themselves entering parinirvāṇa.[47]
“That is why sentient beings cannot enter their pure awareness. Pure awareness does not reject those who can enter it. They can enter it because of their spiritual training, but pure awareness does not enter them.[48] Therefore, both thinking and not thinking belong to the state of confusion and blockage. Why? Because ignorance arising without a beginning is the master. No ordinary being has the wisdom eye, and the nature of his body and mind is ignorance, which continues, like someone who does not end his own life. That is why one loves whoever agrees with one and hates whoever disagrees with one. Because love and hate nurture ignorance thought after thought, seeking bodhi in this way does not bring success.
“Good man, what is the self-image of having [an autonomous] self? It is revealed when one’s mind affirms something. Good man, as an analogy, someone feels comfortable throughout and suddenly forgets his body. His four limbs can hardly move because he did not properly care for his body. However, after he is stimulated by a needle or the scent of herbs, he immediately knows that he has a self. Therefore, when one’s mind affirms or grasps something, it reveals [the self-image of having] a self. Good man, even when one’s mind attains Buddhahood and finally knows the purity of nirvāṇa, it is the self-image of having a self.
“Good man, what is the self-image of being a person? It is the realization that the affirmation of a self is false. Good man, the mind that affirms a self no longer acknowledges this self. Because what is realized is that there is no self, whoever has this realization has no self. The realization that overrides the affirmation of a self is the self-image of being a person. Good man, suppose that someone has fully realized that nirvāṇa is his [true] self. If his mind retains even a bit of his realization and all the principles that lead to his realization, it is the self-image of being a person.
“Good man, what is the self-image of being a sentient being? It is one’s self-image not covered by the affirmation [of a self] and realization [that one has no self]. Good man, as an analogy, if someone says, ‘I am a sentient being,’ then you know that the sentient being he refers to is neither he nor someone else. Why is it neither he nor someone else? Because he calls himself a sentient being [as a species]. Then it is neither he nor someone else. Good man, people generally affirm that they have a self or realize that they are a person. One’s self-image not covered by these two perceptions is the self-image of being a sentient being.
“Good man, what is the self-image of having a lifespan? It is an understanding of pure awareness illuminated by one’s mind. This subtle thought cannot be detected by wisdom arising from one’s karmas. It cannot see itself, just as one’s life force cannot see itself.[49]
“Good man, in the illumination of one’s mind, all perceptions are dust [that covers one’s wisdom], because perception and what is perceived are not apart from dust. As an analogy, when hot water melts ice, ice becomes water and does not know that it was ice. It is the same with one’s perception of having a self and one’s realization that it is false.[50]
“Good man, sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age do not understand these four false self-images. Although they diligently train to attain bodhi for many kalpas, they remain in the sphere of saṁskṛta dharmas, and ultimately cannot achieve any holy fruits. That is why it is called the ending age of the true Dharma. Why? Because one regards all perceptions of having a self as nirvāṇa, and regards one’s affirmation [of a self] and realization [that one has no self] as attainments. As an analogy, if someone takes a thief for his son, he will never achieve family wealth. Why not? Because whoever loves himself also loves nirvāṇa, and his suppression of self-love has the false appearance of nirvāṇa. Whoever hates himself also hates saṁsāra because he does not know that love is the real root of saṁsāra. Hence his special hatred of saṁsāra is called no liberation.
“How does one know that one’s love of nirvāṇa is no liberation? Good man, those in the Dharma-ending age who train to attain bodhi take their slight realization as success in purifying their minds. They are still unable to cut off the root of their self-image of having a self. If someone praises their teaching, they are delighted and ready to deliver him; if someone criticizes their attainment, they are angered. Then you know that that they doggedly hold their false perception of having a self. This perception lurks in one’s store consciousness [ālaya-vijñāna] and plays with one’s faculties without interruption. Good man, if someone trains to attain bodhi but does not end his false perception of having a self, he cannot enter his pure awareness. Good man, suppose someone knows that the perceived self is empty and that he sees no maligner.[51] However, if he sees himself expounding the Dharma, he has not ended his perception of having a self. It is the same with his perception of being a sentient being and his perception of having a lifespan.
“Good man, sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age claim that their disease [the four false self-images] is the Dharma. Therefore, they are pitiable. Although they make diligent energetic progress, they merely aggravate their disease. Hence they cannot enter their pure awareness.
“Good man, sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age do not understand these four false self-images. Even if they train according to a Tathāgata’s understanding and action range, they ultimately cannot come to attainment. Some of them claim their attainment though they have none; some of them claim their realization though they have none. They feel jealous when they see someone making excellent progress. Because sentient beings have not ended their self-love, they cannot enter their pure awareness.
“Good man, sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age wish to attain bodhi but do not seek realization. Instead they increase their [worldly] knowledge, which strengthens their self-view. They should diligently subjugate their afflictions and, with great bold valor, acquire what they have not acquired, end what they have not ended, stop stirring up greed, anger, love, arrogance, sycophancy, or jealousy when facing objects, and extinguish the personal love between themselves and others. If someone can do so, I say that he will gradually come to attainment. He should seek a beneficent learned friend in order not to fall into the wrong views. If he entertains love or hate with respect to what he seeks, he cannot enter the ocean of pure awareness.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Removing Karma Hindrances, know that
All sentient beings,
Because of their attachment to the love of having a self,
Have falsely been transmigrating without a beginning.
Because they have not removed the four false self-images,
They cannot attain bodhi.
Love and hate arise in their minds,
And they harbor thoughts of sycophancy and crookedness.
Hence they are confused and blocked,
Unable to enter the city of enlightenment.
If they want to reach the land of realization,
They must first discard greed, anger, and delusion,
And stop retaining their love of dharmas in their minds.
Then they will gradually attain enlightenment.
As one’s body has always been empty,
From what can one’s love and hate arise?
One should seek a beneficent learned friend
In order not to fall into the wrong views.
If one entertains love or hate with respect to what one seeks,
One ultimately cannot attain enlightenment.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, please immediately expound the faults of one’s meditation to enable all in this multitude to gain what they never before had, to cleanse their minds, and to acquire great peace. World-Honored One, in the Dharma-ending age, sentient beings will gradually move farther away from the Buddha; sages and holies will hide themselves; evil dharmas will thrive. Whom should sentient beings seek [for guidance]? On what dharmas should they rely? What kind of training should they do? What faults should they remove? How should they resolve to enable the blind not to fall into the wrong views?”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! You ask the Tathāgata about training that can give all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age the fearless bodhi eye, and enable them to complete the holy path. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, if sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age make a great resolve to seek a beneficent learned friend in order to train, they should seek someone with the right knowledge and views. His mind should neither abide in appearances nor take to the ways of voice-hearers or Pratyekabuddhas. Although he reveals his fatiguing afflictions, his mind is always pure. Although he reveals his faults, he praises the Brahma way of life and never causes sentient beings to break the rules. Those who seek to follow such a person will attain anuttara-samyak-saṁbodhi.
“When sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age find such a person, they should make offerings to him, not sparing their bodies and lives. Their beneficent learned friend constantly displays purity through his four deportments [walking, standing still, sitting, and lying down]. Even when he reveals his various faults, his followers should not become arrogant, not to mention grabbing at their wealth, wives, children, or retinues. If a good man entertains no evil thoughts about his beneficent friend, he will eventually attain true enlightenment, and the radiance of his mind flower[52] will illuminate worlds in the ten directions.
“Good man, the teachings imparted by a beneficent learned friend should remove the four faults [of spiritual training]. What are these four? They are as follows: (1) Doing something. For example, someone says, ‘In my quest for enlightenment, I use my mind to take various actions.’ This is a fault because perfect enlightenment is not attained by doing something. (2) Letting things be. For example, someone says, ‘I neither end saṁsāra nor seek nirvāṇa, and I have no thoughts about the arising or ceasing of saṁsāra or nirvāṇa. In my quest for perfect enlightenment, I let things happen according to dharma nature.’ This is a fault because perfect enlightenment is not attained by letting things be. (3) Stopping thoughts. For example, someone says, ‘In my quest for perfect enlightenment, I now stop forever all thoughts in my mind in order to realize the quietness and equality of all dharmas.’ This is a fault because perfect enlightenment is not attained by stopping thoughts. (4) Ending afflictions. For example, someone says, ‘I now end all afflictions forever. As my body and mind are absolutely empty and nonexistent, so too are the false states of my faculties and their corresponding sense objects. In my quest for perfect enlightenment, everything is forever in nirvāṇa.’ This is a fault because perfect enlightenment is not in the appearance of cessation.
“If one stays away from these four faults, one will know the purity [of dharma nature]. Taking this viewpoint is called the right view while taking other viewpoints is called the wrong view.
“Good man, if sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age want to train, throughout their lives they should make offerings to a beneficent learned friend and serve him. If he wants to get close to them, they should not become arrogant. If he leaves them, they should not get angry. Agreeable and disagreeable situations are like the open sky. One should know that one’s body and mind in true reality are the same as those of all sentient beings. If one trains in this way, one will attain perfect enlightenment.
“Good man, sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age cannot attain bodhi because of the seeds of love and hate, and the perception of themselves and others, existent without a beginning. If someone can regard his enemies as though they are his own parents, freeing his mind from perceiving opposites, he will be able to remove his faults. It is the same with ending his love and hate, and ending the perception of himself and others, in the midst of dharmas.
“Good man, if sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age want to seek perfect enlightenment, they should resolve, ‘I will enable all sentient beings throughout the domain of space to attain the ultimate perfect enlightenment. In perfect enlightenment, there is no attainer of enlightenment, nor is there any self-image such as having a self or being a person.’ Whoever makes this resolve will not fall into the wrong views.”
Then, to restate this meaning, The World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Universal Enlightenment, know that
If sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age
Want to seek a beneficent learned friend,
They should seek someone with the right views,
Whose mind stays far away from riders of the Two Vehicles.
His teachings should remove the four faults [of spiritual training]:
Doing something, letting things be, stopping thoughts, and ending afflictions.
If he stays close to them, they should not become arrogant.
If he leaves them, they should not get angry.
Seeing various agreeable and disagreeable situations manifested by him,
They should consider their encounter with him to be rare,
And regard him as a Buddha appearing in the world.
They should never violate the rules
But should forever keep the root of the precepts pure.
They should deliver all sentient beings
And enable them eventually to attain perfect enlightenment.
They should rely on the true wisdom
To end the self-image of having a self or being a person,
In order to transcend the wrong views,
Attain enlightenment, and enter parinirvāṇa.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Perfect Enlightenment Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, You have broadly expounded various skillful means to attain pure enlightenment and bestowed great benefits upon all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age. World-Honored One, we have been awakened. After the Buddha has entered parinirvāṇa, for those in the Dharma-ending age who have not been awakened, how should they conduct a meditation retreat to train to attain the pure state of perfect enlightenment? Of the three pure meditations [śamatha, samāpatti, and dhyāna] to attain perfect enlightenment, which is the foremost one? I pray that, out of great compassion, You will bestow great benefits upon this multitude and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age.”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Perfect Enlightenment Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! You ask the Tathāgata about the skillful means [to do the three pure meditations] and ask the Tathāgata to bestow great benefits upon sentient beings. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Perfect Enlightenment Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, when a Buddha is abiding in the world or has entered parinirvāṇa, or when the Dharma is ending, among all sentient beings, there are those of the Mahāyāna character-type who believe in a Buddha’s secret mind of the great perfect enlightenment and want to train to acquire it. If they live with their students in a saṅghārāma [monastery compound] and are occupied with affairs, they should use spare time to ponder and explore [these three pure meditations] according to my description. If they are not occupied with affairs, they should build a bodhimaṇḍa [bodhi place] and set the duration of a retreat. A long term is 120 days; a medium term is 100 days; a short period is 80 days.
“They should settle down in a clean dwelling. If a Buddha is present in the world, they should do the right thinking.[53] If He has entered parinirvāṇa, they should forge an image of Him and hold it in their mind’s eyes, and rightly think of that Buddha just as in the days when He abided in the world. They should deck their [bodhi] place with adornments, such as flowers and hanging banners. For [the first] twenty-one days, they should bow down to Buddhas in worlds in the ten directions, say Their names, beseech Their pity, and repent [of their sins]. If this practice brings them good experiences, their minds will acquire lightness and peace. After these twenty-one days, they should single-mindedly collect their thoughts.
“If their retreat coincides with voice-hearers’ three-month summer retreat, they should abide as a pure Bodhisattva should, neither dependent on the company of their students nor attached to the ways of voice-hearers. On the first day of their retreat, before a Buddha [or a Buddha statue] they should say, ‘I, bhikṣu, bhikṣuṇī, upāsaka, or upāsikā X, ride the Bodhisattva Vehicle and train to attain nirvāṇa. I enter purity and abide in the true reality of dharmas. I take the great perfect enlightenment as a temple and let my body and mind abide in the equality wisdom-knowledge.[54] Because nirvāṇa by nature has no fetters, I now request Your permission not to rely on voice-hearers. I will conduct this meditation retreat for three months, supported by Tathāgatas and great Bodhisattvas [in worlds] in the ten directions. To develop the great causes and conditions for a Bodhisattva’s unsurpassed wondrous enlightenment, I will not be fettered by [the company of my] students.’
“Good man, this is how a Bodhisattva should conduct a meditation retreat. After he has completed his retreat for [any of] the three terms, he can go anywhere hindrance free. Good man, if sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age seeking the Bodhisattva Way conduct a retreat for [any of] the three terms, they should never take any meditation experience as valid if they have not heard about it [from me].
“Good man, if sentient beings train in śamatha, they should first reach utmost quietness by not thinking. In utmost quietness, their awareness arises. As their initial quietness expands from one body to one world, so too does their awareness.[55] Good man, if their awareness pervades one world, when even one sentient being in that world has even one thought, they will know it. It is the same with a hundred or a thousand worlds. However, they should never take any experience as valid if they have not heard about it [from me].
“Good man, if sentient beings train in samāpatti, they should first visualize all Tathāgatas and Bodhisattvas in worlds in the ten directions. They should use various Dharma Doors to diligently train in samādhi step by step, and should make vast vows and retain them as [bodhi] seeds [in their minds]. However, they should never take any experience as valid if they have not heard about it [from me].
“Good man, if sentient beings train in dhyāna, they should first use the door of accounting.[56] They should account for the arising, abiding, and perishing of the thoughts in their minds, and differentiate their issues. Even as they carry out the four deportments, they should know all their various thoughts. As they gradually progress, they will know even one raindrop in 100,000 worlds, as if it were an object of enjoyment seen with their eyes. However, they should never take any experience as valid if they have not heard about it [from me].
“These are the initial skilful means to practice these three meditations. A sentient being who diligently practices all three of them and makes energetic progress is called a Tathāgata appearing in the world. If, in the Dharma-ending age, sentient beings of low capacity want to seek bodhi but cannot come to attainment, it is because they are hindered by their past karmas. They should diligently repent [of their sins] and constantly wish to remove their karma hindrances. They should first end anger, love, jealousy, sycophancy, and arrogance. They can start with any of these three meditations at will. If they cannot come to attainment through one meditation, they can change to another. They should never give up, but should seek to come to attainment step by step.”
Then, to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke in verse:
Perfect Enlightenment, know that
If all sentient beings want
To seek the unsurpassed bodhi, They should first set the duration of three terms [for a meditation retreat].
For [the first] twenty-one days,
They should repent of their sins without a beginning.
Then they should do the right thinking
And never take any meditation experience as valid
If they have not heard about it [from me].
They should train in śamatha to reach utmost quietness,
Train in samāpatti to visualize Tathāgatas,
And train in dhyāna to account for their thoughts.
These are called the three pure meditations.
If someone can diligently train in all three of them,
He is called a Buddha appearing in the worlds.
Those of low capacity who cannot come to attainment
Should diligently repent of
All sins without a beginning.
If all hindrances are removed,
The state of a Buddha will appear before them.
Then, in the midst of this multitude, Foremost in Worthiness and Goodness Bodhisattva rose from his seat. He made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet and circled Him three times clockwise. Kneeling on both knees and joining his palms, he said to the Buddha, “Great compassionate World-Honored One, You have broadly expounded to us and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age such inconceivable things. World-Honored One, what is the name of this Mahāyāna teaching? How should we uphold it? What merits will sentient beings acquire by training accordingly? How can I be enabled to protect those who uphold this sūtra? To what places will this teaching be propagated?”
After he said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. Three times he made his request in this way.
Then the World-Honored One said to Foremost in Worthiness and Goodness Bodhisattva, “Very good, very good! For the sake of the Bodhisattvas in this assembly and all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, you ask the Tathāgata about the name of this sūtra and the merits acquired by upholding it. Now hearken. I will explain to you.”
Foremost in Worthiness and Goodness Bodhisattva was delighted to receive this instruction. He and the multitude listened in silence.
[The Buddha said] “Good man, this sūtra is pronounced by Buddhas as numerous as the sands of a billion koṭi Ganges Rivers and protected by past, present, and future Tathāgatas. It is the refuge of Bodhisattvas [in worlds] in the ten directions and the pure eye of sūtras in the twelve categories. It is called Mahāvaipulya Dhāraṇī of Perfect Enlightenment, also called Sūtra of Definitive Meaning, also called Secret King Samādhi, also called A Tathāgata’s Definitive State, also called Diversities Arising from the Nature of the Tathāgata Store. You should uphold it as such.
“Good man, this sūtra reveals only a Tathāgata’s state, and only a Buddha-Tathāgata can fully expound it. If Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, train according to its teachings, they will gradually progress to the Buddha Ground. Good man, this sūtra provides Mahāyāna teachings on immediate enlightenment and, through this sūtra, sentient beings with the capacity of immediate enlightenment are awakened. It also supports all who need to train gradually. As an analogy, the immense ocean [accepts but] does not yield to small steams. Both mosquitoes and asuras can drink their fill of its water.[57]
“Good man, suppose that someone uses the seven treasures that fill a Three-thousand Large Thousandfold World to give alms. He cannot compare with whoever hears the name of this sūtra and the meaning of one of its phrases. Good man, suppose that someone teaches sentient beings as numerous as the sands of 100,000 Ganges Rivers and enables them to become Arhats. He cannot compare with whoever pronounces this sūtra and explains half a stanza.
“Good man, suppose that someone hears the name of this sūtra and has unwavering faith in it. Know that he has acquired merit and wisdom under not just one or two Buddhas. He hears this sūtra because he has planted roots of goodness under Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Good man, you should protect whoever in the Dharma-ending age trains [according to the teachings in this sūtra], and never allow evil māras and non-Buddhists to disturb his body and mind in an attempt to make him flinch.”
At that time in this assembly, there were 80,000 vajra guards, including Fire Head Vajra, Annihilation Vajra, and Blue Vajra. They and their retinues rose from their seats and made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet. They said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, among all sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, we will protect those who can uphold this Mahāyāna sūtra of definitive meaning, just as we protect our own eyes. We vajra guards will lead our retinues to guard day and night the bodhi places where they train and to enable them not to regress. Their homes will never have disasters, epidemics will be eliminated, and their wealth will be abundant, never lacking.”
Then the twenty-eight god-kings,[58] including Great Brahma-King [of the first dhyāna heaven in the form realm] and the god-kings [of the first desire heaven] who protect the world, rose from their seats, made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet, and circled him three times. They said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, we too will guard whoever upholds this sūtra, give him security, and enable his mind not to regress.”
Then a strong ghost-king called Kumbhāṇḍa and 100,000 ghost-kings rose from their seats, made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet, and circled Him three times. They said to the Buddha, “We too will protect whoever upholds this sūtra, and will guard him day and night, enabling him not to flinch. If a ghost trespasses the boundary within one yojana of his dwelling, we will crush that ghost into dust particles.”
After the Buddha pronounced this sūtra, all Bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors in the eight classes, such as gods, dragons, and ghosts, and their retinues, as well as god-kings, Brahma-kings, and all multitudes, having heard the Buddha’s words, greatly rejoiced. They believed in, accepted, and carried out His teachings.
1. For the “right experience of samādhi,” see “samāpatti” in the glossary. (Return to text)
2. The Buddha mind is non-dual, like a clear mirror free from differentiation, but displays reflections according to conditions, as does a clear mirror. (Return to text)
3. See “karma hindrances” in the glossary’s “three kinds of hindrances.” (Return to text)
4. A Dharma multitude is a multitude that follows the Buddha Dharma. (Return to text)
5. Faults can be losing the bodhi mind and/or pursuing illusions. (Return to text)
6. See “Dharma-ending age” in the glossary’s “three ages of the Dharma.” (Return to text)
7. See “inversion” in the glossary. (Return to text)
8. See “six sense objects” in the glossary’s “twelve fields.” (Return to text)
9. He is unaware that the open sky is empty and does not become flowers, and that the real birth place of the flowers he sees is the film covering his eyes, not the open sky. (Return to text)
10. Likewise, when ignorance ends, it does not have a definite place where it ends, because it has no birthplace. (Return to text)
11. Although one’s pure awareness is like the open sky, the open sky is not Buddha nature. However, knowledge arising from awareness has an object, e.g., knowledge of the emptiness of dharmas. Then it is like a flower seen in the sky. (Return to text)
12. The Tathāgata store (tathāgata-garbha) is one’s true mind, which is like a Tathāgata in store before one becomes a Tathāgata. See “store” in the glossary. (Return to text)
13. One’s true nature is Buddha nature. (Return to text)
14. Because a sentient being’s true mind is a Tathāgata in store, a Tathāgata’s perfectly enlightened wondrous mind refers to one’s Buddha mind, or inherent pure mind, free from subject and object. Also see “inherent pure mind” in the Sūtra of Neither Increase Nor Decrease in Rulu’s Teachings of the Buddha (Rulu 2012, 101). (Return to text)
15. One’s illusory mind ends through one’s wisdom-knowledge that it is an illusion. This answers Samantabhadra’s question as to whether one can use one illusion to end another illusion, because one’s wisdom-knowledge, which has an object, is an illusion. (Return to text)
16. Whether one’s illusions continue or end, one’s true mind remains motionless. (Return to text)
17. Right thinking is the second part of the Eightfold Right Path. (Return to text)
18. The Buddha says in the preceding section that enlightenment requires no skillful means. Therefore, the skillful means He expounds are pretend skillful means for those who need them. (Return to text)
19. For the six faculties and their corresponding sense objects, see “twelve fields” in the glossary. (Return to text)
20. The five colors are blue, yellow, red, white, and black. According to Dharma Master Zongmi’s (宗密, 780–841) brief commentary on this sūtra, the five colors symbolize the five life-paths, and a given direction symbolizes one’s karma (T39n1795, 0541c8–9). (Return to text)
21. The remedy is the wisdom-knowledge that one’s body and mind are illusions. (Return to text)
22. For one’s six faculties and their corresponding objects and consciousnesses, see “eighteen spheres” in the glossary. (Return to text)
23. For Thirty-seven Aids to Attain Bodhi, see the glossary’s Thirty-seven Elements of Bodhi. (Return to text)
24. After realizing that one’s own body is pure, one sees that others’ bodies are pure as well. (Return to text)
25. It is a delusion to say that nirvāṇa arises because saṁsāra ceases, or that nirvāṇa comes because saṁsāra goes. (Return to text)
26. He is free from the four faults addressed later in the teachings to Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva. (Return to text)
27. For example, it is impossible to see the river bank not moving when the boat is moving. (Return to text)
28. Staying in saṁsāra is like the arising of flowers in the sky, and attaining nirvāṇa is like the perishing of the flowers. (Return to text)
29. The illusory film symbolizes the wrong views; the appearance and disappearance of illusory flowers symbolize saṁsāra and nirvāṇa; the open sky symbolizes one’s true mind with pure awareness. (Return to text)
30. The Sanskrit word rāga is translated into Chinese sometimes as greed and sometimes as greedy desire. (Return to text)
31. Hindrances to principle (理障) are also called hindrances to wisdom-knowledge (jñeyāvaraṇa, 智障). Hindrances of things (事障) are also called affliction hindrances (煩惱障) because things in life stir up one’s afflictions, which lead to karma, then karmic requitals. See “two kinds of hindrances” in the glossary. (Return to text)
32. Although the five character-types are not explicitly listed in text 842 (T17n0842), its teachings imply that they are (1) those on the wrong paths, (2) ordinary beings, (3) voice-hearers, (4) Pratyekabuddhas, and (5) Bodhisattvas. According to fascicle 2 of the 7-fascicle Chinese version of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, the five character-types are (1) voice-hearer character-type, (2) Pratyekabuddha character-type, (3) Bodhisattva character-type, (4) uncertain character-type, and (5) no character-type (T16n0672, 0597a29–b2). The uncertain character-type can become one of the first three character-types. The no character-type refers to ordinary beings that have no aspiration to the holy path. For different levels of the Bodhisattva character-type, see “character-type” in the glossary. (Return to text)
33. Love refers to emotional afflictions arising from things; views refer to mental afflictions arising from the wrong views. (Return to text)
34. This statement can be interpreted as “perfect enlightenment has no self-essence” or as “its nature is not such natures as the five character-types mentioned in a preceding passage.” (Return to text)
35. As the eye cannot see itself, likewise a sentient being cannot see its Buddha nature, which equally exists in all sentient beings. (Return to text)
36. Doing various spiritual trainings is like taking various medicines in a dream to cure a disease. Upon waking, one sees that it was a false effort to cure a false disease. Attaining perfect enlightenment is merely verifying one’s perfect pure awareness. (Return to text)
37. See “ten Bodhisattva grounds” in Sūtra 48 on this website. For details, see the Sūtra of the Garland of a Bodhisattva’s Primary Karmas and the Mahāvaipulya Sūtra of Buddha Adornment, chapter 26, in Rulu’s The Bodhisattva Way (Rulu 2013; 33–88, 111–244). (Return to text)
38. Those with the holy nature are riders of any of the Three Vehicles; those without the holy nature are icchantikas, who have cut off their roots of goodness. See “icchantika” in the glossary. (Return to text)
39. See “knowledge of all wisdom-knowledge (sarvajña-jñāna)” in the glossary’s “three kinds of wisdom-knowledge.” (Return to text)
40. Those who realize their perfect pure awareness become Tathāgatas. (Return to text)
41. For example, one can think of Amitābha Buddha or visualize Him or His land to preclude other thoughts; a Bodhisattva can manifest as a god or a human king to deliver sentient beings. (Return to text)
42. The bell symbolizes one’s body and mind, and its sound symbolizes one’s pure awareness. (Return to text)
43. These four false perceptions are addressed later in the teachings to Removing Karma Hindrances Bodhisattva. (Return to text)
44. One practices śamatha (mental stillness) and vipaśyanā (clear observation) to attain samādhi (meditative absorption), which in its stable state is called samāpatti. Dhyāna (meditation) above the desire-realm level is classified into four levels, called the four dhyānas. Here, the teachings on śamatha, samāpatti, and dhyāna are beyond their definitions in the glossary. (Return to text)
45. Tamer of Men (Puruṣa-Damya-Sārathi) is one of ten epithets of a Buddha. (Return to text)
46. According to Dharma Master Deqing’s (德清, 1546–1623) commentary on this sūtra, the self-image of having an autonomous self is founded on one’s illusory body and mind composed of the five aggregates; the self-image of being a person arises from the belief in a pudgala (an individual that transmigrates); the self-image of being a sentient being arises from the understanding that one transmigrates through different life-paths according to karma; the self-mage of having a lifespan arises from imagining that one’s lifespan is sustained by one’s life force (X10n0258, 0125a9–14). According to the Diamond Sūtra, the fourth self-image is being an everlasting soul (T080235, 0749a10–11). All four false self-images or perceptions come down to the first one, the adamant assertion that one has an autonomous self. However, the following teachings on these four false self-images provide a different perspective. (Return to text)
47. Riders of the Two Vehicles enter parinirvāṇa as a means to ending their cycles of birth and death. (Return to text)
48. Pure awareness is motionless. It neither accepts nor rejects anyone, neither enters nor exits anyone.
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49. The perception of one’s pure awareness likened to one’s life force is called the self-image of having a lifespan. In the Sūtra of Amitābha Buddha (T12n0366), the Buddha states that the lifespan of the residents of Amitābha Buddha’s land is measureless (Rulu 2012b, 85). This statement provides an incentive for sentient beings driven by their deep-rooted love to continue the existence of a self in their false perception, to seek rebirth in His land. (Return to text)
50. The false perception of having a self is like ice, and the realization of its falsity is like hot water. When this false perception ends, both perception and realization dissolve in one’s pure awareness, free from a knower and what he knows. (Return to text)
51. He sees no maligner because he realizes that a maligner is a person established on a self. (Return to text)
52. The mind flower symbolizes one’s wisdom. (Return to text)
53. Right thinking is the second part of the Eightfold Right Path. Here, right thinking can be thinking of that Buddha as a form of meditation. (Return to text)
54. See “equality wisdom-knowledge” in Sūtra 45 on this website and the glossary’s “five kinds of wisdom-knowledge.” (Return to text)
55. A quiet mind is the body, and awareness is its function, which is wisdom. (Return to text)
56. According to Zongmi’s large commentary on this sūtra, the door of accounting (數門) can have two interpretations. The first is counting one’s breath in order to enter one’s mental activities; the second is directly entering one’s mental activities as described in the next sentence (X09n0243, 0414c5–7). Here, the translation is based on the second interpretation because text 842 (T17n0842) does not mention the word “breath.” (Return to text)
57. Mosquitoes symbolize sentient beings of low capacity, satiated by drinking from a small stream. Asuras symbolize sentient beings of high capacity, insatiable by drinking from a small stream. (Return to text)
58. They are god-kings of the twenty-eight heavens: six heavens in the desire realm, eighteen heavens in the form realm, and four heavens in the formless realm. (Return to text)