The Large Sutra On Perfect Wisdom

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Preface

The translation of pages 37 to 430 (abhisamayas I-IV) normally follows the version in 25,000 lines which has been adjusted to conform to the divisions of the Abhisamayālamkāra.1 In some passages of chapters 1-21 I have, however, translated the version in 100,000 lines,2 or adopted readings of the version in 18,000,3 and of those various Chinese translations which seemed to represent an older or more intelligible text. For chapters 22-54 also I have generally followed the revised Pañcavimśatisāhasrika.4 But portions of the original, unadjusted version in 25,000 lines,5 as well as the version in 18,000,6 which are preserved in Gilgit and Central Asian manuscripts of the sixth or seventh centuries, are the basis of pages 229-239 (P), 339-362 (P), 363-367 (Ad) and 369-395 (Ad) of this translation, and I have followed them in those passages which occur in Ms. Stein Ch. 0079a,7 although I have noted all the variants of P insofar as they affect the divisions of the AA.

Pages 431-643 (abhisamayas V to VIII, chapters 55-82) translated the Gilgit manuscript of the version in 18,000 lines, and I here simply reproduce, with the kind permission of Prof. G. Tucci, my translation as it first appeared in Serie Orientale Rome (1962 and 1974), though I have, where necessary, rearranged the sequence of the text to make it correspond to the divisions of the Abhisamayālamkāra. In the eighth abhisamaya, VIII 1-3 and VIII 5, 2, 5-21, this correspondence breaks down altogether and I have therefore given the relevant text from P in pages 653-656 as an Appendix. Finally, chapter 83, Maitreya’s Chapter, is missing in the

For the Bibliography see no. 2A of my The Prajñāpāramitā Literature (= PP), 1960, p. 42. 2

Āatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā, ed. P. Ghosha, 1902-1913; and Ms. Cambridge Add. 1630. 3

Aṣtādaśasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā.

.e. for pages 203-228, 240-338, 367-370, 396-414.

PP no. 2, p. 40.

PP no. 3, p. 45.

PP p. 46, i.e. at P 216a-217a, 223a-224a, 226b-228a, 241A-B, 242B-243A, 250b-251a, 256b-257a, 271a-272a, 294a-297a, 302b-304b, 305b-306a, 347, 357a-361b, 363a-364b, 367a-b, 381a-383a, 406b-407b, 408b-409b. Also Sten Know’s Ms (PP p. 45) for P 221 and P 313.

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Gilgit Ms, but is preserved in the Tibetan Ad (To. no. 3790), which corresponds almost literally to the Sanskrit text of P 578a-583b, which I have edited in 1968 in Mélange d’Indianisme à la mémoire de L. Renou, pp. 233-242.

To philological purists unacquainted with the particular problems of the Prajñāpāramitā, my procedure must appear questionable, and they will insist that I should keep the different recensions rigidly apart. There has, for instance, been some criticism of my superimposing the chapter headings of Ad on the text of P, which has no such headings. What motivated me was the belief that this exceptionally difficult text can be studied much more easily if broken up into relatively short and manageable chapters, and I chose those of Ad because Ad alone, in its Tibetan version, gives all the headings, whereas Ś and the unrevised P normally only number the chapters and given the headings just occasionally.8 If there were even the slightest hope that each of the chief version, i.e. S, P and Ad, might be translated in the foreseeable future, I would have stuck strictly to P. As it is, there is no such hope. What is needed at present is to make known the contents and message of the Large Sutra in its entirety and, aware of the execrable nature of the Nepalese Mss. on which alone the text of P can be based, I naturally relied frequently on the older manuscripts, which are more accurate than the often unbelievably careless and corrupt late Nepalese Mss.9 This translation is a continuation of my work on the Abhisamayālamkāra (SOR vi, 1954), and there seems to me some value in showing how the headings of AA fit the text of P. This correspondence is, I admit, not always easy to see, particularly where the Path of Vision is concerned, but with some patience everything will become clear.

The most outstanding feature of contemporary Prajñāpāramitā studies is the disproportion between the few persons willing to work in this field and the colossal number of documents extant in Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan. Looking ahead to the year 2,000, I would say that further study would have to proceed in three stages:

Firstly, the general outlines of the argumentation of the Large Sutra must be determined, irrespective of the different versions and

cf. PP pp. 47-50.

There is the good news that the abhisamayas II-IV will soon be published from the Gilgit Ms. by my friend Professor L. Lancaster of the University of California, Berkeley.

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recensions. This is what I am trying to do in this publication, which has achieved its main purpose if it has rendered the course of the argument intelligible. In this context it must be admitted that my treatment of the lengthy repetitions lacks somewhat in consistency, and has been chiefly guided by the desire to cut down their bulk.

Second, the literal meaning of many now obscure passage must be ascertained with the help of the Ta chih tu lun,10 which ought to be translated in its entirety into a European language.

After that is accomplished, it would be necessary and useful to scrutinize the many versions and recensions of the Large Sutra, to note their differences as well as their agreements, and to try to work out their mutual interrelations. To attempt such a detailed study now would be to put the cart before the horse.

At the top of the page I give a page number, marked P and the appropriate section of the Abhisamayālamkāra, marked AA. The latter follows the numeration adopted in my English translation of the AA. P refers first, i.e., up to page 202, to N. Dutt’s 1934 edition of P, and after that to the pagination of the Ms. Cambridge Add. 1928. I have used this Ms. in all my publications as the standard reference for everything I have said about the unpublished portions of the Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, because back in 1947 I thought it a particularly good Ms. Further study has revealed substantial omissions; for instance, between P 241 and 254 no fewer than ten and a half leaves are simply left out.11 In spite of this, it will be better to continue to treat Ms. Cambridge Add. 1928 as a kind of master copy until we can refer to a printed copy of a edition of the text.

The translation could not have been accomplished without the help of many institutions and individuals which has been acknowledged with gratitude in the previous editions, i.e. on page v of part I as issued by Luzac & Co. in London in 1961, and on page i

PP p. 41.

They are: P 240A, B, 242A, B, 243A, B, C, D, E, 253A, B. – This states of affairs has misled N. Dutt and myself (PP p. 43) into affirming that ‘one can notice some desire to abbreviate the treatment of the merit derived from perfect wisdom to which A ch. 3-5 and S ch. 17-23 devote a great deal of space’. What we did was to count the pages instead of reading them, and we failed to see that 21 pages in the Ms. were missing in this section. – Further imperfections of Ms. Add. 1928 are that P 233 is missing, P 264 follows after P 265 instead of preceding it, P 282 is missing, while P 283 occurs twice, and P 319, also occurring twice, had to be renumbered P 319A and 319B.

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of parts II and III as issued in Madison, Wisconsin in 1964, and again in Seattle, Washington in 1966.

OṂ NAMO BHAGAVATYAI ĀRYAPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀYAI!

Berkeley, California E. C.

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Chapter Headings of THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM IN 18,000 LINES
V I
Nar. P S (ch.) cr. A Page
1. Introduction 1 4 1 i 3 37
2. The production of the thought of enlightenment 16b 17 - 45
3. Observations 34a 37 - 56
4. Equal to the unequalled 83b 93 - 85
5. The tongue 86b 95 - 87
6. Subhūti 89a 98 2 3 89
7. Entrance into the certainty of salvation 107a 116 3 5 95
8. Srenika, the Wanderer 116a 123 4 7 99
9. The sign 136b 139 5 11 104
10. Like illusion 151a 150 6 16 111
11. Similes 173a 160 7 17 117
12. The forsaking of views 188a 172 18 126
13. The six perfections 192a 175 20 128
14. Neither bound nor freed 209a 185 20 137
15. The Concentrations 225a 194 8 23 143
16. Entrance into the dhārani-doors 244a 203 9 - 153
17. The preparations for the stages 262b 214 10 - 163
18. Going forth on the stages of the great vehicle 280a 225 23 179
19. Surpassing 295b 231 11 24 182
20. Nonduality 325a 242 12,13 25 188
21. Subhūti, the Elder 353b 256 27 194
22. The first Śakra-chapter 374a 200b 14 ii 33 203
23. ‘Hard to fathom’ 391a 208a 15 39 211
24. Infinite 397a 211b 16 41 214
25. The second Śakra-chapter 414a 219b 48 220
26. Gains 420b 223a 17 iii 51 224
27. The shrine 434a 230b 18 54 229
28. The proclamation of a Bodhisattva’s qualities 449b 239a 19 70 236
29. The heretics 457a 241b 20 76 240
30. The advantages of bearing in mind and reverence 460b 242a 21 80 243
31. On relics 471b 243d 22 iv 94 249
32. The distinction of merit 499b 249b 23 v 104 259
33. On dedication and rejoicing 510a 258a 24 vi 135 269
V II
34. Glorification of the virtues of consummation 23b 270a 25 vii 170 283
35. The Hells 34a 273b 26 176 287
36. The exposition of the purity of all dharmas 47b 279b 27 viii 187 295
37. Unsupported anywhere 61b 286a 28 193 302
38. Without basis 80b 297a 29 ix 205 312
39. The tradition in the North 90b 301b 30 xi 208 318
40. Mara 122b 315a 31 232 332
41. The absence of Mara’s hosts 132b 319b 32 243 338
42. Showing the world 146a 328a xii 252 346
43. Unthinkable 158b 333a 33 272 351
44. The congregation 170b 336b 34 xiii 280 358
45. The ship 179b 343a 35 xiv 286 363
46. Exposition of the own-being of all dharmas 187b 348a 36 xv 292 367
47. The disciplining of greed 199a 356a 37 299 372
48. Settlement in the training of a Bodhisattva 206a 361a 38 303 376
49. Irreversibility 231a 377a 39 xvii 323 388
50. Exposition of the tokens of irreversibility 243a 383b 40 331 396
51. The exposition of skill in means 255a 390a 41 xviii 341 404
52. The fulfillment of skill in the six perfections 272b 398b 42 xix 356 415
53. The prediction of the Ganges Goddess 287b 404b 43 365 422
54. Demonstration of the development of skill in means 291a 406b 44 xx 370 424
55. The exposition of the forsaking of discrimination 301b 412a 45 380 431
56. Even training 324b 421a 46 xxiii 410 447
57. Practices 335a 425a 47 xxv 424 453
58. Exposition of non-discrimination through similes 343a 428b 48 xxvi 434 458
59. Nonattachment 354b 430b 49 xxvii 444 462
60. Entrusting 364a 445a 50 454 481
61. Nonextinction 378b 451b 51 xxviii 468 490
62. The supreme attainment 385b 455a 52 494
63. Many questions concerning the duality of dharmas 403a 465b 53 505
64. Right exposition 445b 479b 54 524
65. The skill in honouring, tending and revering the good friends 455b 484b 55 530
66. Exposition of skill in means 460b 487b 56 533
67. Morality 462b 488a 57 535
68. Growth 462b 488b 58 536
69. Exposition of the path development 463b 490a 59 537
70. The exposition of the consummation of the training in gradual activity 482b 501b 60 547
71. The nature of dharmas is signless and cannot be apprehended 496a 508b 61 555
72. Exposition of marklessness 514b 517a 62 565
73. The perfection of the imperishable consummation of the marks and minor characteristics 528a 523b 63 573
V III
74. The exposition of the sameness of all dharmas 25a 540b 64 591
75. The exposition of imperturbability 41a 548b 65 598
76. The armour (put on) for the sake of maturing beings 61b 558a 66 607
77. The cognition of the perfect purity of the Buddha-field 78a 565a 67 615
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78. Skill in means in the purification of the Buddha-field 90b 570b 68 621
79. Exposition of the non- existence of own-being 102a 574b 69 628
80. The absence of (all) defilement and purification 108b 583b 70 632
81. Being joined to ultimate reality 115a 586a 71 636
82. The exposition of the unalterable nature of Dharma 127b 592a 72 642
83. The manifestation of a Bodhisattva’s training 130a 578a - 644
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Divisions of the Abhisamayalankara
I. THE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL MODES
1. The varieties of the thought of enlightenment
2. Instructions
3. The Aids to Penetration
4. The lineage or the source of progress
5. The objective supports
6. The program
7. The progress which consists in putting on the armour
8. The progress in setting out
9. The equipment
10. The progress which consists in going forth
II. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PATHS
1. The limbs of the knowledge of the paths
2. The knowledge of the paths which consists in the cognition of the path of the disciples
3. The knowledge of the paths which consists in the cognition of the path of the Pratyekabuddhas
4. The path of vision and the great advantage
5. What the path of development does
6. Resolute faith
7. Praise, eulogy, and glorification
8. Turning over
9. Rejoicing
10. Glorification of the marks of consummation
11. Absolute purity
III. ALL-KNOWLEDGE
1.-2. Unestablished in either Samsara or Nirvana
3.-4. Farness and nearness to perfect wisdom
5.-6. Points to be shunned and Antidotes
7. The endeavours of the cognition of entities
8. The sameness of the endeavours
9. The path of vision
(10. The resume of I-III)
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IV.
THE FULL UNDERSTANDING OF ALL MODES
1. Modes
2. Endeavours
3. Qualities
4. Faults
5. Marks
6. The aids to emancipation
7. The aids to penetration
8. The community of irreversible Bodhisattvas
9. The identity of Nirvana and Samsara
10. The purity of the Buddha-field
11. Training in skill in means
V.
THE FULL UNDERSTANDING AT ITS SUMMIT
1. Its characteristics
2. The growth
3. Firm position
4. Complete stabilization of thought
5. The path of vision
6. The path of development
7. The unimpeded concentration
8. The sixteen errors
VI. GRADUAL REUNION
1.-13.
VII. THE SINGLE-INSTANTANEOUS REUNION
1. With regard to all dharmas without outflows and without karma result
2. With regard to all dharmas without outflows which have reached the state where their karma result has matured
3. The single instantaneous reunion which sees all dharmas as devoid of marks
4. The single instantaneous reunion which sees the mark of nonduality in all dharmas
VIII. THE SINGLE-INSTANTANEOUS REUNION
1. The substantial-body
2. The enjoyment-body
3. The transformation-body
4. The work of the Dharma-body by means of the 16
Transformation-body – in general
5. The functions of the Dharma-body
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Introduction to Chapters 1-21
A

A1. The book opens with an account of the scene and circumstances of the sermon.

On the first page we have a condensed description of both Arhats and Bodhisattvas. The contrast between the two goes through the argument of the entire book. The epithets used here are explained in great detail by Nagarjuna.12

The remainder of the description of A1 is designed to establish the authority of the Sutra. A section on “Entrusting”13 towards the end of the Sutra has the same end in view. In the “Introduction”, the preaching of perfect wisdom is credited with three excellencies: 1. It is

ci

rcumstances, at all times, and throughout the universe. This claim is less presumptuous than it may sound at first sight because the assertions of this book are really no assertions at all and that is why they can endure. 2. It proceeds from the highest level of spirit

fr

om the Buddha himself. The Buddha does not teach it in his human body – which could be seen in Magadha about 500 B.C. – but in his glorified “body”. The “glorified body” of the Lord is either called here asecanaka-atmabhava,14 i.e. the body which is so beautiful that the beholder can never be satiated with looking at it;15 or it is called prakrty-atmabhava, literally the body which brings out, or corresponds to, his “essential original nature”, here rendered as “extraordinary body”.16 “The Buddha always had this body – when he was

P 11-13, but not in Gilgit MS.

from SHlC, to satisfy; or SlC, to sprinkle; cf. CPD, “unmixed, unadulterated”

ith full and unimpaired propertie

so Gilgit MS; P 10 atmabhavam prakritam. The idea is well brought out by a passage in the Pali Dighanikaya (xviii 17 = xix 16). “When,

anamkumara appears (patu bhavati) among the Gods of the Thirty-three, he appears after having created (abhinimmitva) a gross (material) body (olarikam attabhavam). For that which is the natural appearance (pakativanno) of Brahma, that, O Lord, is not sufficiently materialized to impress their vision 18

born, when he became a Buddha, when he turned the wheel of dharma. That is why beings can say to themselves, ‘What I now see that is truly the Buddha’s body’,” and thereby those who hesitated so far can be delivered through their faith.17

The wonderful qualities of the Buddha and his great wonder-working power are taken as tokens of his capacity to teach the real truth about the actual facts of existence. Power and knowledge go together. Omniscience implies omnipotence and omnipresence. The descriptions wish to magnify the Buddha’s stature in the eyes of the reader, and to generate and foster an attitude of pure faith in his authority. At the same time they counteract the notion that the Buddha is a mere man, with a man’s imperfections and limitations, and they try to give an idea of his true body and personality which are immense and inconceivable.

3.

The teaching has not only an intellectual and spiritual, but also a cosmic significance. The universe vibrates in consonance with it, and gives its consent to its message. A series of cosmic miracles precedes the teaching of this, as of other Mahayana Sutras. We speak of a “miracle” when occult of spiritual forces visibly transform or overlay the natural world in such a way as to produce wonder and awe. The description of A1 is a mythological way of conveying and idea that the spirit is victorious over matter. E. Lamotte has divided the drama of A1 into 10 scenes. The translation follows his division.

A2. Secondly, there is a survey of the aims one may have in view in cultivating perfect wisdom. The translation follows P, which has carried out extensive rearrangements in the text of S, omitted many passages, and added a few. The purpose was to make this section appear as a teaching about the “thought of enlightenment” – first (P 18-19, 1 a-d) about the thought of enlightenment in general, and secondly (P 19-37, le) about its 22 kinds.

The “thought of enlightenment” is (a) the decision to win full

(anabhisambhavaniyo … cakkhupathasmin).” - Instead of “extraordinary” one might have translated “natural”, “primary”, “original”, “real”, “usual”.

Nag. 518-9

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others. Emptiness and compassion are it two constituents.18 It makes one into a Bodhisattva. The term is used twofold19: 1. For the initial, first, production of the thought of enlightenment, the “vow”20. 2. For the marching towards21 enlightenment. In the second sense it covers the entire career of a Bodhisattva, and its 22 forms correspond to its stages (cf. III1f), and end in Buddhahood. The 22 kinds of P are also found in Asanga’s Sutralamkara (ch. IV. 15-20), although in a different order. A3. Thirdly, there are various p

hroughout at contrasting the Bodhisattva-doctrine of the great vehicle with the teachings of the Disciples, and at correcting the views and practices of the Disciples by infusing them with the spirit of emptiness. In the firs

re of reality, and about the attitude to be adopted towards it. Things, or “dharmas”, are, by their nature, empty; they are really emptiness itself. We cannot “get at” them, but only at their names, which do not really represent them. We therefore should not “review” anything at all, should not “settle down” in anything. It is noteworthy that the ontology of the Prajnaparamit

sented here, and elsewhere (cf. P 39, 99, 150), as a simple continuation, or extension, of the traditional Buddhist doctrine of “not-self” (an-atta). It is supposed to be well known and agreed upon that the “self”, and other expressions which imply a “self”, such as “being”, “living soul”, “person”, “organism”, “individual”, “one who feels”, “agent”, or “thinking subject”, etc. are mere words, to which an ultimate reality nothing at all corresponds. What is true of the self is now said to be true also of all other supposed entities which, in their differentiation, are data which somehow imply a separate self, and therefore will be unreal on the level of accomplished self-extinction on which alone the truth becomes discernible. A3b. I

rior to that of the Arhats, because in his compassion he puts it at the disposal of all beings, so that they may be able to win Nirvana. This superiority is based on the “thought of enlightenment” (see A2), and the 6 perfections (P 41), and it finds

sunyata-karuna-garbha. H.

H 16.

pranidhi

prasthana = setting out, see CII, 4. 20

and expression in the fact that, as the source of all that is good in the world, the Bodhisattvas are worthy of the gifts of all beings, including the Arhats. A3c. The prelim

ect wisdom. The translation is not easy to follow because of the ambiguities of the word yoga, and of its derivatives yukta and yojayati, which are used in many shades of meaning, and have to rendered by “joins”, “join up”, “undertaking”, “endeavour”, “endeavouring”, “discipline”, and so on. The argument begins with a reinter

hs of the sermon at Benares (A – D). The connection is not immediately obvious at first sight, and requires prolonged study to be noticed.22 Then follows a discourse on the first two “Jewels”, i.e. the Buddha (E) and the Dharma (F). The third, the Samgha, the Community of Saints, is dealt with in A3d. A3d. The remaining instructions have in

with the formula “there a Bodhisattvas, great beings”. They deal with the various kinds of Bodhisattvas. First of all (A3dI) they consider the differences which arise from the circumstances of their rebirth, and their place on the spiritual ladder. The decisive experience of a Buddhist takes place when he “wins the Path”. He then ceases to be a common man, and becomes a “saint”, or arya. The classification of the “saintly, or holy persons” (aryapudgala) had, early on, occupied the minds of the scholastics, and this section of the Sutra may usefully be compared with the Pali Puggalapannatti, and with Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa. I have not discovered the principle which underli

ification adopted by S. P read into the text a scheme of 20 different kinds of saints, all of them “irreversible” according to H. But P had to make considerable rearrangements, as well as some additions and omissions. In a general way the types seem arranged, both in S and in P, in an ascending order of worth. The enumeration begins with the “Streamwinner”, and ends with the last stage of a Bodhisattva’s career, when he has become a Buddha. This leads to a number of remarks on a variety of practices, or

wments, of a Buddha (A3dII), first of all perfect purity (1), and all-knowledge (2, 3); and the five eyes (4), the six superknowledges (5), and the knowledge of all modes and evenmindedness (6).

A – C form the core of the Heart Sutra.

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The five eyes, o

tioned quite early on in Buddhist history. The account here agrees in general with the tradition of the older schools. The essential objects of each “eye”, are, according to H: 1. separate differentiated things; 2. decease and rebirth of beings23; 3. all dharmas viewed in direct intuition, without intervention of any discursive thought (avikalpana)24; 4. the faculty of attainment (adhigama) peculiar to different kinds of saints25; 5. all dharmas which are fully understood (abhisambodha) in all their aspects and modes.26 The insistence on the nonapprehension of the five “eyes” is the special instruction here. The list of the six superknowledg

e traditional lore of the Buddhists. The first five describe psychic qualities, the sixth is peculiar to the Buddha. The special instruction consists, according to H, in that they should be seen from the standpoint of the Absolute as “quiescent from the outset”.27 A3dII6.

gatives of a Buddha: 1. The knowledge of all modes, which does not proceed by opposing one concept to another, and which is not an act of mind, and 2. an evenmindedness to which all dharmas are the same, and identical. H treat A3dII6 as a part of A3dII5. In several texts the magical power “without outflows” is equated with evenmindedness.28 A4. The prelimin

rlude, which falls into three parts: In the second part the great Disciples give their assent to the instructions; they acknowledge the superiority of the perfection of wisdom of the Bodhisattvas, and the Buddha once more (cf. A3b) explains that the Bodhisattvas are the source of all the good there is in the world. The first and third parts deal briefly with the prediction of the future Buddhahood of various members of the assembly. The descriptions follow in general the stereotyped lines laid down in

The heavenly eye sees beings and thing which are found in the six places of rebirth.

The wisdom eye knows the true character of dharmas. Nag. 439.

The dharma-eye sees by which means (upaya) and which teaching (dharma) a given person finds the Path. Nag. 439.

The Buddha-eye is the direct intuition of all dharmas. Nag. 439.

adi-santatvena-avaboda. H.

Nag. 330 n. 1.

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early Mahayana Sutras. They have, however, some special features which also appear in two passages of the Ashta,29 which are later additions. The parallel suggests that this section of the Sutra was composed about the time of the Christian era, i.e. between 50 B.C. and 50 A.D.

aparamita is reached. All the many thousand lines of this Sutra can be summed up in two sentences: 1. One should become a Bodhisattva (a Buddha-to-be), i.e. someone content with nothing less than all-knowledge attained through the perfection of wisdom for the sake of all living beings. 2. There is no such thing as a Bodhisattva, or all-knowledge, or a “being”, or the perfection of wisdom, or an attainment. The solution of this dilemma lies in nothing else than the fearless acceptance of both contradictory facts. T

d on, is the common theme of B. B1 reiterates the teaching of A1, that the doctrine preached here proceeds from the Buddha’s might, who ever may give utterance to it. At the beginning of B2 the central theme is then stated. Thereafter, chapter 2 of S (=B2) is an expansion and restatement of the short outline of the teaching in A3a. The Bodhisattva, and all that he is made of, is a mere word, inaccessible as dharma, or as factual reality. If B2 were regarded as an attempt at argumentation, it would be unduly prolix. It aims, however at describing a repetitive meditation which is designed to bring about a certain state of mind, and not merely to convince the intellect, but to reform the whole personality. B3. Ch

rks about the degrees of ripeness in insight, which are difficult to follow because the terminology is unfamiliar, and the argument relies to some extent on a play of words. The passage is, however, important in that it sets the theme for the remainder of B. B3 contrasts, by a series of allusions, the distinctive atti

dhisattva with that of a Disciple. When a Disciple practises

ch. 19 end, ch. 28 beginning.

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the meditation of the (16) aspects, or attributes of the four holy Truths, i.e. impermanence, etc.,30 he uses it as an antidote to the belief in a separate individual self. With this end in view he “settles down” in the conviction that impermanence, etc., represent actual properties of actual facts (dharmas). The Bodhisattva, on the other hand, contemplates those same aspects as antidotes to a belief in separate dharmas. He can therefore accuse the Disciple of a “craving for separate dharmas” (dharmatrishna), “craving” being the very opposite of the emancipation intended by such contemplations. A Bodhisat

cterised by “rawness”, or “immaturity”. The translation is here somewhat unintelligible because the argument relies on contrasting two Sanskrit words, amah and ny-amah. Nyamah, Pali niy-yama, means “the way of salvation”, “the certainty of winning salvation by pursuing a certain way”. Buddhist etymology derives nyama from ama, “raw, crude, immature” – as nis-ama “de-rawing, ripening”.31 “Rawness” is identified with the defilements, and the condition of being an ordinary unconverted person. One distinguishes (at P 182) the distinctive Bodh

lvation” from that of a Disciple32 and of a Pratyekabuddha.33 The term nyama denotes that stage at which each type knows for certain that they will, by their own distinctive methods, win the particular kind of salvation of which they are capable, i.e. Arhatship, Pratyekabuddha-enlightenment, full enlightenment. In the case of Bodhisattvas one can also say that they “enter into the fixed condition of a Bodhisattva” (as nyama is translated at P 66). At P 107 the entrance into the Bodhisattva-niyama is mentioned together with the entrance into the irreversible stage. The stage of certainty is preceded by another stag

characteristic that one can “fall” from it. Traditionally that stage is known as the “Summits”. The scholastics of the Sarvastivadins distinguished four stages preceding entrance into the Path by the name of “Aids to penetration” (nirvedhabhagiya).

For the list see my Buddhist Meditation, 1956, pp. 142-146.

Tibetan: nyama = skyon med-pa, absence of fault; niyama = nes-par’gyur-ba = fixed determination, what is certain to come about.

Also called samyaktva-niyama in A ii 38, as Pali sammattaniyama-avakkanti. samyaktva = Nirvana at A.K. vi 181.

33 so H 903, 14 opposes bodhisattva-nyama-avakranti to sravaka-pratyekabuddhabodhi. Similarly P 21.

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They bore the names “Heat”, “Summits”, “Patience”, “Supreme mundane dharmas”. In the text here they are preferred to by the term “wholesome roots”. The Aids to penetration are parts of the preparatory path (prayogamarga) which leads up to the intuition of the truth (satya-abhisamaya) in the Streamwinner, and they have the four Truths in their 16 aspects for object. On the second stage, the “Summits” (murdan), one has yet little faith in the three Jewels, and from it one can “fall”. The definition of the “Summits” which the Sutra here has in view is given in the Abhidharmakosa34: “They are called ‘Summits’ because they are the highest among the unfixed (a-cala) wholesome roots, i.e. of those from which one can fall; either one falls back from them, or one goes beyond them in the (next stage of) Patience”. The third stage Patience (kshanti), seems alluded to in the phrase “adaptable craving for dharmas”35 in the text. It implies a contrast to “patience conforming to dharmas”,36 which is an attitude to be adopted relative to “deep dharmas,” and the descriptions given by Nagarjuna37 well tally with the attitude to dharmas enjoined here. The text therefore envisages here

guishes three “clans” (gotra) of saints, each with a distinctive aim, programme of practices, and stages of progress. The other distinguishes four preparatory stages in the career of the saints, the “Aids to penetration”. The two traditions are combined already in the Abhidharma of the Sarvastivadins. According to the Mahavibhasha38 the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas can, in the first two preparatory staes, still change their clan, and choose to become Buddhas. But by the time they have reached the stage of “Patience”, they are too specialised and fixed to modify (avivartya) their approach. Once he has gone to his distinctive stage of

VI 164

35 anulomiki dharma-trishna. – In H to A xvi 322 the bodhisattva-nyama-avakranti is identified with the third nirvedha-bhagiya (esp. H 633, 21), in H to A xvii 331, however, with duhke dharma-jnana-kshanti. In A.K. vi 175 one is capable of entering nyama after the fourth stage, agra-dharma. A vi 179 sq., dharma-jnana-kshanti follows immediately on agradharma, i.e. the duhke dharma-jnana-kshanti. This is entrance into samyaktva-niyama, which makes and arya. – The whole problem of kshanti is full of obscurities, which have so far not been cleared up.

dharma-anulomiki kshanti.

Mpp-s 327, 337, 396.

Lin li-kuan, L’aid-memoire de la vraie loi, 1949, p. 293. – cf. Also A.K. VI pp. 175-6.

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“Patience”, a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha can no more fall into the bad destinies, i.e. he cannot be reborn in hell, as an animal, or as a ghost. This fact then excludes him from the career of a Bodhisattva who has made a vow to be sometimes reborn in the bad destinies, so as to comfort and convert the damned, the animals and the ghosts. The Sutra here states the conditions under which a Bodhisattva falls from his own distinctive path, and those under which he goes along it. So much about B3. After the Bodhisattva has spent one incalculable aeo

ructions”,39 he now enters into the “path of training”, the stage of a “beginner”.40 The purpose of the “Aids to penetration” is, as we saw, to bring about a condition which makes the path of vision appear, and which destroys the quality of being an average, unconverted person.41 Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga gives a masterly account of the meditations which precede entrance into the Path. As a result of these meditations42 indifference of repulsion (patikulyata) to complexes (sankhara), or conditioned events, is established. One wants to be released from them, grasps them in contemplation, sees nothing in them one could seize upon as I or mine, puts away fear or delight, and becomes indifferent (udasino) and impartial (majjhato) to all “complexes”, as not really concerning one at all. One turns away from them and views the tranquil Path, Nirvana as calm. All signs which indicate anything conditioned stand out as mere impediments, or obstacles (palibodha).43 One makes Nirvana into the object, which is signless, procedureless, without complexes, the stopping of complexes, by means of a cognition “which passes beyond the kinship and plane of average men, which enters into the kinship and plane of the Ariyas”. It is the first turning to, the first laying to heart, the first bringing to mind of Nirvana as object.44 We do not, I think possess a description of the m

ices associated with the “Aids to penetration” among either Sarvastivadins or Madhyamikas. We are much better informed

so H 36.

prayoga-marga = adhimukti-carya-bhumi H 64. adikarmika. cf. at P 154.

A.K. VI 167.

V.M. 656.

V.M. 672.

For similes see V.M. 673 sq.

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about the interpretation of the Yogacara School.45 As interpreted by the Yogacarins, the Aids to penetration aim at first to remove the belief in separate outer objects, and the inclination towards them, and thereafter to bring about a concentration in which “the light of the gnosis appears as without the distractions caused by the separate representation of a perceiving subject”.46 Although in their details the Yogacara accounts of the Aids to penetration are heavily coloured by the theories which are specific to that school, in a general way the removal of both object and subject can be regarded as the red thread which goes through the argumentation of B4 to B10.

It must still be mentioned that the Aids to penetration arise through meditational development,47 and that they require a state of concentration, or trance. As a matter of fact, the two last Aids to penetration can be accomplished only in the fourth trance (dhyana), which is the necessary prerequisite (asraya) for entry into the path of vision.48 The Sutra mentions two concentrations, one at P 133 and one at P 142, which occur according to H on the “Summits” and “Supreme dharmas” respectively. The two insights are called “concentrations”, because of the peaceful calm which accompanies them.49

B4 to 10 gives an ontological analysis of a Bodhisattva on the decisive stages of his career. These stages are not thought to be achieved here, but are described as they are conceived in the course of the meditations preceding the path of vision. The argument refers to the following ten events in a Bodhisattva’s career: 1. He gains the thought of enlightenment, P 121-122; 2. becomes irreversible P 107, 117-120, 123, 128; win 3. perfect wisdom P 123, 136; and 4. the prediction, P 144; 5. he “goes forth” to the knowledge of all modes, P 138, 141; 7. obtains perfect purity, P 138 (cf. A3dII1); 8. gains apparitional rebirth, P 138 (corresponds to the 9th bhumi in P 224); 9. is able to know full enlightenment, P 141; and 10. reaches the knowledge of all modes, P 151-154.

Alternatively chapters 3 to 6 of S may survey four aspects of a

Haribhadra 63-64; Sutralamkara VI 9; XIV 23-26; Madhyantavibhaga 26-27; Mahayanasamgraha III 7, 9, 13. Siddhi 575-584, 602-3.

artha-grahaka-vikshepa-anabhaso jnanaloka nishpadyate. H 64.

bhavana. A.K. VI 170.

Siddhi 583.

49 Rgs I 10 … anupadahi sprisati santi-samadhi sreshtham. 11. eva-atma-santa viharamn ...

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Bodhisattva’s spiritual life: -

I.

The thought of enlightenment, which initates, accompanies, and concludes it (B4).

II.

The perfect wisdom which inspires him, viewed as an object (B5, 6, 6a).

III.

His relation to all-knowledge and enlightenment (B7b – 8).

IV.

That all the constituents of his spiritual life are due to ignorance and are illusory (B9, 10)

I have had great difficulty in unravelling the sequence of the argument, and am not sure that I have always succeeded in doing so.

I. (B4) The idea that the thought of the Absolute, being an absolute thought, is “transparent luminosity” (pra-bhasvara)50 repeats an old tradition, that “thought in its substance is luminous through and through, but has become defiled by adventitious taints”.51 Such a self-luminous and pure thought is at the heart of all reality. It is the original reality which we have covered up with all sorts of coverings. The dialectics of a thought which is really no thought – a thought, which, as unconditioned, is included neither in mind nor in consciousness, and is without a separate object – is here simply asserted. Its logical implications are ignored, the descriptions of the ways of getting to it occupy the rest of the Sutra. At this point the Sutra is content to state that in his attitude to this thought, as to all data of experience, the Bodhisattva should not “fancy himself”. The connotations of the Sanskrit phrase na manyate cannot be reproduced by one single English word. Man-yate is connected on the one side with man-as “mind”, and on the other with mana, “conceit”. In the first sense it can be translated as “to think of or about”, “to consider”, “to mind (about)”, “to put one’s mind to”, “to have in mind”, “to have in view”, “to set one’s heart on”, “to fix the thoughts on”, “to wish, or strive”, “to care about”. In the second sense it means “to be conceited about”, “to fancy oneself for”.52 Conceit is due to a false sense of

Pali : pabhassara; or pandara in Asl. 140.

Anguttara Nikaya, 1, 8 – 10.

Also Pali mannati, to be proud of, to be conceited, to boast. – manyana = Pali mannana, at A xxi 387, 389, and xxix 480. – H to A xi 235 explains by utkarsha. In this sense the term is used at A I 5, 8, 13. – Also P 84, 121, 145, 171. – Often manyate means to “think falsely, fancy”, as e.g. in A I 24, iv 94, xi 233, and other cases. – At A vi 161 “mind” = seize = get at = construct = discriminate =

28

ownership and an insufficient extinction of self. It is discussed more amply in the later parts of the Sutra.53

IIa. (B5) The Bodhisattva next considers that from the point of view of ultimate reality all things neither appear nor disappear, and that in consequence they can be neither affirmed nor denied. Furthermore (at I3g), seen from the Absolute all dharmas are unutterable, and verbal fictions are all that we ever operate with.

IIb. (B6a) Because of the emptiness of all entities one should “not stand” in, or on, them, i.e. one should not insist on their reality. “Not to take one’s stand” is equated with “not settling down in the fixed conviction” that this is so or so, or with not having a fixed inclination to do, to win or to lose something.54 The best way of avoiding the fault of “standing” on dharmas is not to bring them in at all,55 and to refrain from any act of discrimination which may turn to them.56 The often repeated saying that the Bodhisattva should “stand in perfect wisdom by not taking his stand anywhere” is explained by Asanga57 as the avoidance of five standpoints:

1. He does not take his stand on a belief in a self (see P 132). And thus does not say “I know”, “this is my wisdom”.

2. He does not take his stand on the conceptions of Bodhisattvas who have not seen the true reality, and thus he does not try to define wisdom in any way.

“When you see a thing, it puts you into its bondage;

When you do not see it, then you are free of it.”

3. He does not abide in either Samsara or Nirvana, avoiding them both as extremes (anta).

4. He rejects the standpoint of the Disciples who are content to cut off their own passions, as well as 5. that of the Disciples who dwell in Final Nirvana to the detriment of the welfare of beings.

“Turning of the mind”58 is, according to Vasubandhu,59 the

see = review. – H to A i 5 = abhinivesam na kuryad. H to A i 9 = tattvato na budhyate. H to A I 13 = savikalpena tattvato’sattvat. 53

S ch. 45.

asthanayogena = anabhinivesayogena H to A I 8 = S 582.

asthanata = anivesatah H to A xii 274.

rupa-abhoga-vikalpa.

Mahayanasamgraha 253.

cetasa abhoga.

Trimsika 20.

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decisive trait of the act of attention which dwells on an object for more than one moment, and the negation of “formative influence” therefore follows directly from that of “standing”. In the Ashta60 the Lord is quoted as identifying “formative influence”61 with “discrimination”,62 and the later Pali tradition counts “formative influence” among the Maras.63 As a secondary meaning of the term we may mention “accumulation of karma”.64 In its etymological meaning the term means “to bring together”, “perform”, “prepare”, “render effective”. In its connotations the term is connected with samskara, “impulses”, the fourth skandha, which is defined by abhisamskarana as its mark,65 and with the will66 and its creations, and with the conditioned, which is created by it. In B6a “formative influences” are further connected with “taking hold” of something, and he who attempts to take hold of something does not reckon with its essential emptiness.

IIc. (B8b) Further, all “signs” should be avoided. We have to do with a “sign” (nimitta) wherever the impression of a stimulus is either taken as an indication that there is something there – as in perception – or as a reason for doing something about something. The taking up of a “sign” is regarded as the salient feature of perception. Innocuous as it may seem, perception as such is an obstacle to salvation in that it is both erroneous and misleading. It is erroneous because the world as perceived is largely a fabrication of our desire for adaptation to it, and covers up the vision of what is really there, i.e. Nirvana, or the succession of ceaselessly changing momentary dharmas. It is misleading because, as the commentators put it, we first “recognize” a set of data as a “man”, or a “woman”, and then base bad actions on that “recognition”. The sign is “defilement”, and the Absolute is called the “signless” (animitta). It is, indeed, unrecognizable when met.

Srenika the Wanderer is, according to Nagarjuna67 the Srenika Vatsagotra, who in the Pali texts is simply called Vacchagotta. A

A xviii, 346 = S ch 41.

abhisamskaro = citta-abhoga H.

vikalpa = viparyasa H.

Thag-A II 46, Ud-A 216, V.M. 211. Five Maras: khandha-, kilesa-, abhisankhara-, maccu-, devaputta-, -C. Nidd. No. 506 kammabhisankaravasena patisandhiko khandhamaro dhatumaro ayatanamaro.

as in A vii 183.

samkhatam abhisamkharonti A.K. I 29, S.N. 87.

A.K. iv 169 = cetayate.

Mpp-s, Lamotte 46 n, 184 n.

30

number of his conversations with the Buddha are recorded. They are scattered through the Pali Canon, but combined into one section in the Samyuktagama of the Sarvastivadins. The text refers here to a Sutra68 which, according to Nagarjuna,69 discussed “Srenika the Believer” and at the same time, according to the Vibhasha70 and Nagarjuna, preached the emptiness of all dharmas. Since Subhuti’s argument is difficult, and since we are inclined to lean on signs, and do not see how we can have faith without a sign, “Subhuti here takes as his witness the Little Vehicle where it speaks of the emptiness of dharmas, How could those who practice the great vehicle not believe in it?”

Srenika showed “faith”, first, in that he believed that the Buddha could help him to find the path,71 and, second, in that he was willing to accept the Tathagata in spite of the fact that he could not be related to any of the skandhas, i.e. to form, etc. He entered into a “cognition with a limited scope” which, according to Haribhadra means that it was directed to the absence of a self in persons,72 and not also in dharmas). Srenika was concerned to find a true self, in other words, the Tathagata. Nagarjuna relates that Srenika originally took the person as one lump, and that therefore the Buddha asked him about its elements. He had also heard people speak of the “I” in two ways, as identical with the five skandhas, and as different from them. The skandhas are multiple, and the I is one – so they cannot be identical. The self would be born and perish as the skandhas do, and it would not be independent of causes and conditions – thus it would not be the true self. Therefore, how can something outside the five skandhas have the character of “I” or “self”? As Nagarjuna puts it, “Srenika’s second act of faith consisted in that, when he had heard that the Buddha denied the self, and said that from the beginning there was none, he accepted the fact that, because there is no self, the dharmas have no support, and are like a dream, a mirage, nonapprehensible. Having obtained power of faith, he entered into the true mark of dharmas, and did not mistake form for the

68 i.e. Samyukta no. 105 (pp. 3

M.N. 72, 487, cf. 481.

Mpp-s chuan 42, p. 368b; cf. 350a.

p. 3 profound abhidharma (?) = sunyata. 71 Samyu

p. 50 pudgala-nairatmya. 31

Srenika

“Do you regard the Tathagata as form?” “No.” “As in form?” “No.” “As outside form?” “No.” “As the absence of form?” “No.” “When, under all these aspects, you do not see the Tathagata, should you doubt, and say: What is there fixed and definite in the Buddhas’ doctrine?” “No.” Srenika then won the path, and became an Arhat. This is how Nagarjuna recounts the Sutra. The Samyukta-agama has some variations. There it is stated expressly that the initial question assumes that the true self is identical with the reality which survives death, and that three answer are possible: 1. The self is eternal, 2. the self is cut off, 3. (the self is) the Tathagata. IId. (B6c) Perfect w

neither found nor got at, and one should accept this fact without losing heart. IIe. (B6a) Nor

that a Bodhisattva has perfect wisdom, “is not lacking in it”, one seems to attribute to him a property. Such attribution of properties is quite incompatible with the emptiness of all dharmas. III. then considers the statements one may make about a

isattva’s relations to the knowledge of all modes, or to enlightenment. In each case, such statements must be seen in the light of emptiness, and they really assert or posit nothing at all. B7b. The Bodhisattva “goes forth” to all-knowledge. That

ment must take account of the fact that no dharma is ever “born” – originated into birth-and-death, or “goes forth”, escapes from it – since it has no own-being and no nature of its own. B7c. Skill in means is a well-known condition of winning

htenment. It is now defined as the absence of all the false attitudes described in B5-7a. B7d. The knowledge o

those dharmas do not in themselves exist, it is without an object, it is a non-dual cognition, i.e. one which differs substantially from the cognitions with which we are familiar. B8. It is stated that the Buddhas deliver

e enlightenment to a Yogin who practices true meditation and whose personality possesses such a constitution, made of form, etc. that the Buddhas can base a prophecy on it. This statement is not, however really true, because it implies false discriminations. IV. The analysis is fitly summed up by the conclusion

rate entities do not exist, and are all ignorance (B9) and 32

illusion (B10). B9 can be regarded as the removal of the false discrimination of an object, and B10 (from 1 3u) that of a subject. B9a. First of all, the non-existence of separate dharmas,

h results from the foregoing analysis, is connected with ignorance. This Sanskrit root VID means both to “know” and to “find”, and therefore a-sam-VID-yamana “do not exist”, and a-VID-ya, “ignorance”, are more closely connected in Sanskrit than they are in English. The belief in the existence of dharmas which really do not exist is ignorance. Ignorance is the first link of conditioned coproduction. The doctrine of conditioned coproduction is restated in what follows. The argument is perhaps made more intelligible by a parallel passage in Candrakirti’s Prasannapada73: “Because of the apprehension of a self, and of what belongs to a self, beings do not overcome birth-and-death. And why? It is because one reviews self and other, that action-forming forces (karma-abhisamskara) come about. The foolish untaught common people who do not know that all dharmas are absolutely, completely nirvanised get at ‘self’ and other. Having got at that, they settle down in it. They then become greedy, full of hatred and confused. Thereupon they bring about the threefold action – by body, speech, and mind. Discriminating, by superimposition,74 what does not exist, they say ‘I am greedy, full of hatred, confused’.” B9b then infers from

ttitude to be adopted to perfect wisdom, enlightenment. B9c is absent in S. It is an addition made by P, to bring ho

act that neither must one assume the reality of the objective elements, nor must one believe in the subject as an ultimately real agent the experiences. B10 considers, fina

goes to enlightenment and finds that it is nothing but an illusion. B11

rience, which has been expounded in B4 – 10, would have a most demoralising effect on spiritual life if it were not counterbalanced by a positive attitude to other people. While he is still in the initial stages of his training, on the level of a

xvii, 296.

so’sat-samaropena vikalpayati.

33

beginner,75 the Bodhisattva needs some social support, some “sustenance” (samparigraha H). In order to stand the Void he must be firmly anchored in society. Those who are engaged in completely isolating themselves from everything, and in purifying themselves of it, are in need of association with spiritual friends (B12) to keep up their morale. If the house is well garnished and cleaned, one must beware lest worse devils enters into it. According to a Tibetan commentary,76 the two supports mentioned in B11 and 12 are 1. internal, i.e. the cognition which enables one to reject the two extremes of phenomenal existence and the Hinayanistic Nirvana; 2. external, i.e. the spiritual preceptor and teacher.

B11. First, all people in general are one’s support in so far as one regards their welfare as one’s personal responsibility, and “never abandons all beings”, as the Sutra says elsewhere.77 The text here indicates the practice of the six perfections with a thought associated with the knowledge of all modes as the basis for the “skill in means”, and the absence of depression and fear as its fruit.

B12. Buddhist texts frequently emphasise the necessity of a good spiritual friend (kalyana-mitra). It is mentioned in other parts of the Sutra as well,78 and Santideva has collected an instructive number of passages from a variety of texts.79 The “true friend” is one who helps us to win a better destiny, or the ultimate goal of Buddhahood. The term does not refer so much to good companions as to one’s teacher, the spiritual adviser from whom one learns the Dharma, and whom one should revere. He is important as a protector against the forces of evil, personified in Mara – who twist the teaching. In other parts of the Sutra80 the “deeds of Mara” are enumerated in greater detail than here.

C

C. A new topic is now taken up in chapters 7 to 11 of S: What is a Bodhisattva? (CI) What is a great being? (CII)

so’sat-samaropena vikalpayati.

nava-yana-samprasthita = adikarmika A xv, 292.

A xxvii, 448 = S ch. 49.

A xv, 292 = S ch. 37; A xxii, 396 = S ch. 45.

Sikshasamuccaya pp. 34 – 44.

A xii = S ch. 31 – 32; A xii = S ch. 45.

34

What is the great vehicle? (CIII).

CI. As to the first, the exact question is: bodhisattva kah pada-arthah? literally, “Bodhisattva”, “what is the pada-arthah?” “Pada-artha” either means, 1. “meaning (artha) of a word” (pada), or, 2. that which corresponds to the meaning of a word, i.e. a “thing”. The answer is: “a-pada-arthah bodhisattva-pada-arthah”, literally “nothing is the meaning of the word ‘Bodhisattva’”. One may also translate: “‘Bodhisattva’, what entity is that? – The entity ‘Bodhisattva’ is a nonentity”.

The remainder of the chapter based on a play of words, between pada-artha and padam, as noted in the translation. It elaborates a famous verse in the Dhammapada,81 which I quote here according to the Sanskrit version of the Udanavarga.82

“Of those who have no hoard, who have well comprehended food.83

Whose range is the Void, is the Signless, is Detachment84 –

As the track of birds in the sky (space), so is their track85 hard to follow.

Those in whom becoming has dried up, who do not lean on the future,86

Whose range is the Void, is the Signless, is Detachment –

As the track of birds in the sky, their track is hard to follow.”

The text here inserts a classification of dharmas, by way of describing the objective foundation (alambanam) of a Bodhisattva’s activity, as a counterpart to CI which, according to Haribhadra, demonstrates the true essential inner nature of a Bodhisattva, the subjective substratum of the properties of a Buddha.87 In the form of a diagram:

All dharmas

┌───────┼────┐

A. wholesome B. unwholesome C. indeterminate

├─────────────┐

1. worldly = 2. supramundane =

vv. 92 – 93.

XXIX, 23 – 24 in Rockhill; no. 35 – 42 in Stzb. Pr. Ak. Wiss., 1908, pp. 977 – 985.

bhajana: the necessaries of life.

vi-veka.

or: future destiny; padam, or gati.

are unconcerned about it; hy aparantam ca nasritah.

pada-artha = pratishtha-artha = prakritistham gotram = primordial lineage = pratipatter adhara.

35

with outflows without outflows

┌─────────┤

2a conditioned 2b unconditioned

┌─────────┤

2ba common 2bb uncommon

“Indeterminate” dharmas are actions which have no karmic effect, either wholesome or unwholesome. “Wholesome” dharmas should be accepted, “unwholesome” rejected, “indeterminate” ignored. As to the “wholesome”, the “worldly” are found in ordinary people, while the “supramundane” are included in the right path of the Saints. Since worldly dharmas are “with outflows”, not an antidote to the seizing on self, they should be shunned, just as the “supramundane” should, for the opposite reason, be accepted. The “supramundane” are, when contemplated, either “conditioned” or “unconditioned”. “Conditioned” elements relate to the empirical conventional world, are included in the triple universe, and depend on causes and conditions. Haribhadra instances the 37 wings to enlightenment. The “unconditioned” elements relate to ultimate reality, are not included in the triple universe, and do not depend on conditions. Suchness is an example. When developed, supramundane dharmas are either “common” or “uncommon”. The “common” manifest themselves in the spiritual stream (santana) of all the Saints, the “uncommon”, such as the 10 powers, only in that of the Buddha. Again the latter should be preferred.

CII. Next, the meaning of “great being”. Four definitions are given by the Buddha himself, by Sariputra, by Subhuti, and by Purna (CII, 4), CII, 1 – 3 expound the aim, goal or programme (samuddesa) of Mahayanistic activity. Haribhadra88 says that CII, 1 – 3 correspond to the three stages of the conquest of a country by a king: he annihilates all hostile forces; takes possession of the ground thus gained; attains a predominant position with regard to other kings.

CII, 1. The Buddha, the great Compassionate One, sees the greatness of the Bodhisattva in his comprehensive service to others.

CII, 2. Sariputra, chief protagonist of Abhidharma-wisdom, characteristically stresses the negative aspect of his greatness, the

p. 83.

36

forsaking of all false views.

CII, 3. Subhuti sees the greatness of the Bodhisattva in his final positive achievement (adhigama), i.e. the thought of enlightenment and of all-knowledge. In his explanation of the Bodhisattva’s nonattachment to his thought, Subhuti, in the account given by the Ashta,89 repeats what he had said before (at B4) about the “thought of enlightenment”, and it is there, and not in CII, 3, either in S or in P, that he makes one of the remarks about which Sariputra questions him (see ch. 12 n. 3).

CII, 4. Purna, son of Maitrayani, was “the foremost in explaining the doctrine”.90 With his answer a new argument begins – a description of the various stages of progress (pratipatti, H) of the Bodhisattva.

According to Haribhadra, the argument from CII, 4 to the end of D is occupied with the four kinds, or stages, of “progress”. These correspond, according to Asanga,91 as follows, to the stages of a Bodhisattva’s career. The “putting on of the armour” (CII, 4), which signifies vigour, and the “setting out”92 (CII, 5 – 6) correspond to the initial stages of “equipment with merit” and of “action in resolute faith”, the “progress in equipment”,93 up to CIII, 1e, to the upper part of the “path of training”, the first stages of CIII, 1f to the “path of vision”, the remaining stages of CIII, 1f to the “path of development”, CIII, 2 to both paths, and the “progress in going forth” (CIII, 3 and D) has the last three stages of the “path of development” for basis (adhisthana).

CII, 4. The first step in the progress is “to put on the great armour”. The Bodhisattva is a hero, a warrior, and an “armour” seems appropriate to him. The armour consists in the six perfections, which are again described, first in general, with special stress on the altruism of a Bodhisattva, and then one by one in great detail. Thirty-six varieties are surveyed, 6 groups of 6 – each perfection being combined with all the others.

CII, 5, 6. After that we hear what occurs when the

I 19 – 20.

A.N. I, p. 23. – Mpp-s 196 n.

H 84.

samprasthita.

def. H 106, Ob. 184: samasta-mahayana-anushthanena sambhriyate samudagama-bhavena mahabodhir ebhih., bring to full accomplishment the whole of the Mahayanistic Path, representing thus an amassing (of the factors) of the great enlightenment, in the sense of bringing it to full realization. 37

Bodhisattva, next, sets out94 in the great vehicle (CII, 5), and, after that when he mounts on95 it (CII, 6). To “set out” means to get started. If “mounting on” is a later step, the translation is faulty, and one should render the term by “ascend on”. This is suggested by Haribhadra,96 according to whom the Bodhisattva first “sets out” in the vehicle which represents the factors and results of the path,97 and then “ascends on” it, or “by means of it”, inasmuch as he comes to higher and still higher degrees of perfection.98

CII, 7. After Purna had (at CII, 4 – 6) explained the practical task of a Bodhisattva in its three initial stages, Subhuti and the Buddha consider the actual reality which can be attributed to these practical endeavours. They and their objects have only the reality value of a magical illusion, of a magical show, owing to the illusory nature of the “beings” involved.

The ontological analysis now proceeds in three steps:

1.

In actual reality, the Bodhisattva is not armed with the great armour, because “to be armed with the great armour” is an attribute, a mark, which may be said to be his own, and the emptiness of all “marks” means that their negation can be attributed to a thing, or a person, with the same justification as their affirmation.

2.

One makes practical efforts to bring something about, to ‘make” something. But there is no maker of anything, nor any power to make, or to put together. This is, in the final analysis, due to their “beyond-end-ness”.

3.

The practical efforts aim at emancipation, or deliverance. As such they are without a real basis, because one cannot claim that anything, as it exists, is either bound or freed. Candrakirti99 defines “bondage” as the defilements, like greed, etc., since they deprive of their autonomy100 the beings who are bound by them. Because a common man is in their bondage, he cannot rise above the triple word. Freedom consists in cutting through the bonds

Its mark (H 86) is to be samyak-vyavasthita, its essence is the attainment of a correct position, and the process of mastering all the properties of a Mahayanistic saint (samasta-mahayana-dharmakramana-svabhava).

samarudho.

H 85.

hetu-phalapatmaka-dharma.

uttarottara-visesha-adhigaman.

Prasannapada

0 a-sva-tantri-karane.

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of the passions. These passions are essentially ignorance, which again is the result of making distinctions, e.g. between “to be” and “not to be”, or between “Nirvana” and “birth-and-death”, “emancipation” and “bondage”, and so on.101

CIII. Next, the argument proceeds to the meaning of the great vehicle. The Sutra begins here with five questions asked by Subhuti, as in AI 23. The questions are then answered, one by one: the first in CIII, 1 a-e, the second in CIII, 1f, and the third to fifth in CIII, 2. It must be borne in mind that the Large Prajnaparamita is an expansion of the Ashta, and that CIII, 1, a-f are represented there by only three short sentences.

In one of the more systematic parts of the Sutra, the great vehicle is now defined through its constituents (CIII, 1).

CIII, 1a. First, of course, the six perfections, which are briefly defined with special emphasis on the “skill in means”, or the help which we owe to others.

CIII, 1b. Considering the paramount importance of the idea of emptiness, a list of 20 kinds of emptiness is particularly welcome. The term “emptiness” as such is said to mean “neither unmoved nor destroyed”. “Unmoved” (a-kutastha) means that it overtowers (kuta) all change, is unchangeable in what it is, in its own being, “steadfast as a mountain peak, as a pillar firmly fixed”.102 The opposite would be the change, or destruction, of its own being. Both of these are excluded.

Now, from its beginnings, Buddhism has been taught as the “middle way” between the two heresies of Eternalism and Annihilationism. It is now maintained that to say “a thing is” is equivalent to “it is eternally what it is”, “it remains for ever what it is”, and that the formula “it is destroyed” is equivalent to saying that “it is not”. The whole doctrine of emptiness, as taught here, rests on this equivalence.

“Emptiness” is a word for the identity, or nondifference, of “yes” and “no”. It is an antidote to all grasping at false discriminations and conceptions (vikalpa), and it is another term for “nonduality”. “Yes” and “no” are not reflections of actual fact, but of the attitudes of self-willed individuals.

The general notion of emptiness is then applied to 20 different

1 see Prasannapada ch. 11, and Schayer’s German translation, 98 – 103.

2 D.N. I 14 and D.N. –A. 1, 10.

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concepts or categories. Lists of emptinesses were very popular in the Mahayana, and also the Theravadins had one. Outside the Prajnaparamita tradition we have a list of 24 in Patisambhida magga (Pts.) II, 177-184, and of 7 in the Lankaravatara (p. 74). The formulations of the Pts provide an instructive contrast to this section of the Sutra. “Empty” is taken there to mean “empty of self, or of anything that would constitute a self – i.e. of permanence, stability, everlastingness, nonliability to reversal”. On the whole, three meaning of “empty” can be distinguished in that text:

1. Empty of self;103

2. Moving in the direction of Nirvana;104

3. Absence of correlative items in each other.105

The Prajnaparamita list itself, the most authoritative in the Mahayana, may have originally comprised only 16 items, to which at some later date first two,106 and then two more items were added. Sometimes, however, we meet with lists of 7 and 14.107 A few of these forms occur independently in other parts of the text.108

We possess a number of explanations of the items, which however, vary widely among themselves. The earliest is that of Nagarjuna (c. A.D. 150?), as yet untranslated.109 The Yogacara authors, whose writings have come to us, seem to have largely ignored the original intention of the text. We possess a commentary in the Sandhinirmocana-sutra (c. 150),110 in Sthiramati’s Madhyantavibhagatika,111 c. 450, and in Dinnaga’s Pindartha,112 c. 450. The deviation of these authors from the original meaning is due to their desire to find “the real esoteric meaning” of the Sutras.113 The hints of Haribhadra,114 c. 800, are

3 no. 1, 3, 11-13, 14?

4 no. 4, 6-10, 16-24.

5 no. 2, 5, 15.

6 A number of passages mention only 18 items, e.g. P 161; S 1374, 15; 1375, 21; 1403. 10

7 7: S I 137, 14: Gilgit Ad LXIII, 248b.

8 e.g. 3, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19. – 3 at P 134 (cf. P 89 and A ix 205); 12 at P 173-4, 263; S 137, 139 (P 45), S 604, 613, P fol. 592a; 13 at S 137; 14 at P 48, 93, 134, 169, 191, 222, fol. 470, 477b, 523a; A vii 171, xvii 331, 15 at P 39; 19 at P 84, 198, 262, cf. P 39, 138, fol. 593b. 10

9 Mpp-s ch. 48, chuan 31, pp. 285b-296b.

0 VIII, 29.

1 pp. 45 – 63.

2 vv. 8 – 18.

3 Madhya-v-t. p. 58: sarva-sutranta-abhisamdhi- vyakarana- artham.

40

of great help, although he often seems to do violence to the text by coordinating the 20 forms of emptiness with the ten stages (bhumi) of a Bodhisattva and with the ten kinds of ignorance, which, according to the Yogacaras,115 are removed on the ten stages. Suzuki’s notes116 should also be consulted.

CIII, 1c. The 20 forms of emptiness, which constitute the “equipment with cognition”,117 are followed by a list and short explanation of 112118 concentrations, constituting the “equipment with merit” according to Haribhadra. The Old Wisdom School had known only two kinds of concentrations: either a list of 8, i.e. the 4 trances and the four formless trances (see P 210), or a list of 3 concentrations which are identical with the 3 doors to freedom, i.e. the signless, emptiness, and the wishless (see P 208). In the beginnings of the Mahayana it became usual to give names to a manifold variety of concentrated attentions on insights into aspects of the truth, and even to the concomitants of being in a state of concentration. These concentrations, really innumerable, are said to be varieties of the 3 doors to freedom,119 and they belong to the plane of the 4th trance.120 Lists of such concentrations seem to have been popular in the first centuries of the Christian era. A few are mentioned in the body o the Sutra, outside this chapter.121 Others are found in the Ashta,122 the Saddharmapundarika,123 Samadhirajasutra, Karunapundarika124 and Guhyasamaja.125

The terminology used in this context has not yet been scientifically explored. It is obviously esoteric, and requires initiation by a Guru, which in its turn is said to depend on the merit acquired in the past.

CIII, 1d. Next comes a survey of 21 practices, which

4 pp. 95 – 6.

5 i.e. Mahayanasamgraha ch. 5, 1. Madhy-v-t. pp. 101 – 107. Siddhi pp. 639 – 660.

6 Essays III, 222 – 228.

7 jnana-sambhara H.

8 The number varies in different documents. The Tibetan translation of S, for instance, gives 162. 11

9 Mpp-s. chuan 28, 268a.

0 Lamotte, Mahayanasamgraha 44.

1 cf. Mpp-s 434, 472.

2 xxx, 490-494, a later addition.

3 xxiii, 352-3.

4 p. 99 (118).

5 chapter 13. – A list of four is found in Asanga’s Mahayanasamgraha (xii 3), and in the Siddhi (p. 632), as well as in Dharmasamgraha cxxxvi.

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constitute the “equipment with the path” according to Haribhadra. Most of them are common to all Buddhist schools. As given here they agree to a large extent with the traditions of both Theravadins and Sarvastivadins.

CIII, 1e. Next, the 43, or 42,126 Dharani-doors. A dharani – from DHRI, to carry – is a verbal expression which permits to “bear in mind” a certain truth. It is a help to memory, to prolonged meditation, and, in addition, like a mantra it encloses the magical efficacy of the doctrine, and has power to protect its user from danger. Mukha means “door”, the entrance to a truth, or to an aspect of reality (dharma), or it may mean the “aspect” itself.

In Sanskrit, the vowel A is considered as inseparable from all consonants. A mystical alphabet, the A-RA-PA-CA-NA, became at some unspecified time current in some Buddhist circles.127 It differs from the regular Sanskrit alphabet by the sequence of the letters, the omission of v and of all (i.e. 12) vowels except A, and the inclusion of 13 double consonants. One of these, the letter YSA = Z, cannot possibly occur in Sanskrit words. This fact, together with some other particularities,128 suggests that it took its present shape in the North West corner of India. With the help of the Chinese and Tibetan translations we can follow the development which this section of the Sutra underwent between A.D. 200 and 900. The letters which comprise the Arapacana have remained substantially the same during that period. But there are great variations in the choice of the words used to illustrate them. In one case Nagarjuna’s commentary indicates that a word had its origin in Southern India.129 The text of the Nepalese manuscripts of the Sanskrit text, which date from c. 1800, is, through the ignorance and carelessness of the scribes, often unsatisfactory. My translation follows in general the Gilgit Ms. Of Ad. But in a

6 Some sources give 43, other 42 letters, and we cannot at present decide which number was originally intended. See my The Prajnaparamita Literature, 1960, p. 11 n. 16.

7 Its use seems not to have been confined entirely to the Mahayana, as it is mentioned in the Dharmaguptavinaya, T 1428 xix, in connection with the 6th pacittiya, as a type of joint collective recital.

8 e.g. shanga for sanga at no. 10 is also found in the Kharoshthi Dharmapada. J.As. IX, xii, 1898, pp. 229 v. 3; 245 v. 37. – YSA was introduced between 100 B.C. and A.D. 100 for foreign words. It is akin to the Z of Iran, and is found also in Khotan and Kucha. 12

9 at no. 9, DA – “they do not burn”. See my The Prajnaparamita Literature, 1960, p. 11 n. 17.

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number of cases the Chinese and Tibetan version. The Arapacana is found also in the Gandavyuha,130 but there the explanation of the letters is quite different. The use of the Arapacana continues to the present day, and in later literature it is always connected with the Bodhisattva Manjusri.131 Images of an Arapacana-Manjusri are fairly common.132

The idea of connecting the letters of the alphabet with points of the doctrine is at least as old as the Lalita Vistara,133 where, when the Bodhisattva as a child learns the Sanskrit alphabet, the enunciation of each syllable evokes the miraculous sound, or audition, of a corresponding doctrinal term. The principle is the same as in “A for apple, C for Cat.” It has been reproduced in English only occasionally, as in B for “bond”. The present scheme is in many points dependent on that of the Lalita Vistara.

CIII, 1f. Next, the 10 stages of a holy life. Mystics of all ages have never tired of mapping out the steps of the spiritual ladder. The present arrangement becomes more intelligible when considered as the result of two trends of Buddhist tradition. On the one hand, there was a scheme of the four Paths – Streamwinner, Once-returner, Never-returner and Arhat – elaborated by the Sarvastivadins into a scheme of 7 stages, also mentioned in this Sutra (P 225, 230). On the other hand, the development of a Jataka literature focussed attention on the past lives of the Bodhisattva who became later on the Buddha Sakyamuni. Four fixed points stood out in that career: 1. The prediction by Dipankara; 2. the stage of becoming irreversible; 3. the sojourn in the Tushita heavens, and, of course, 4. the attainment of Buddhahood. When the career of this Bodhisattvas, but even of everyone who followed the doctrine of the Mahayana, it became natural that one should wish to alter the tradition about the stages of the Path, which had been elaborated on the assumption that Arhatship was the goal. The old scheme was not entirely abandoned, but in some way integrated with the six perfections.

It is likely that originally seven stages only were assumed, and that the number was raised to ten when the decimal system

0 ch. 45, pp. 448-51. Each letter is called a prajnaparamitamukha.

1 e.g. T 1171-1174.

32 B Bhattacharya, The Indian Buddhist Iconography, 1958, 120-121. – Filchner p. 441. Tib. A-ra-ba-rtsi-na, connected with Manjughosha. Waddel. Lamaism 151, Arapacana dhi as mantra of Manjughosha.

3 ch. 10 pp. 127 – 128.

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became popular.134 Since Buddhahood is the goal of a Bodhisattva, the very last stage (10) was obviously that of a Buddha, or Tathagata. The one before (9) would be that of a Bodhisattva’s last birth. Prediction and irreversibility – both linked together – would then go into the 7th and (or) 8th stage. The first stage would be that of the “thought of enlightenment”, with which the career of a Bodhisattva properly begins. Another fixed point would be the stage on which the perfection of wisdom in its specific doctrines is fully understood. In this Sutra it is the seventh.135 The correspondence of stages 2 to 6 with the first five perfections does not appear to me to be clearly marked here, but perhaps it was intended.

The Mahasamghikas worked out a primitive, and rather unsystematic, scheme in the Mahavastu.136 Later the Dasabhumika, c. A.D. 100, the Bodhisattvabhumi, c. 400, and the Madhyamakavatara, c. 650, worked out a neater arrangement, which has become classical in Mahayana tradition. Our Sutra stands halfway between the earlier and the final arrangement, and, according to Rahder, it seems to correspond closely to a treatise on the “stages” which is preserved only in the Chinese translation of Fo Nien (383 – 417).137

The text gives, first of all, a simple enumeration of the items. It then repeats them, and adds an explanation to each. The second list often differs verbally from the first, but there are few material discrepancies. In other schemes names are attached to the stages. There are none here.

CIII, 3. Next, we hear why the “great vehicle” is so called. In this part, the Sutra first simply repeats the answer, or rather the five answers, as found in the Ashta (I, 24), and then considers each one of them in detail.

Haribhadra sees here a discussion of “going forth”, which was fore-shadowed in CIII, 2, and which continues until the end of D. “Going forth” (nir-yana) may mean also “marching out of”, or “issuing from”, and there is, of course, in the Sanskrit the connection with “vehicle” (yana). “Progress in going forth” (see at CII, 4) brings about, in the end, the attainment of the omniscience of a Buddha.

4 Hara Dayal, The Bodhisattva Doctrine, 1932, p. 271.

5 In Bodhisattva-bhumi and Dasabhumika it is, however the 6th.

6 I, 76 sq.

7 T 309.

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D

D. We reach now the climax of the argument, i.e. the dialetics of attainment. First of all we are assured (D1) that the Bodhisattva reaches his goal, and attains to all-knowledge. I do not understand, however, what contribution the remarks on “expounding the great vehicle in agreement with the perfection of wisdom” – with which chapter 12 of S begins – make to the progress of the argument.

D2. The impossibility of any kind of attainment is then demonstrated in 3 steps. D2a and D2b employ the same literary device as C did. First, Subhuti gives his answers in brief, and then they are amplified bit by bit. It is rather confusing that one of the remarks here attributed to Subhuti (P 250, ch. 20 n. 6) has in fact been made by Sakra in another, later, part of the Sutra.138

D2a and 2b both begin with the same statement about what a Bodhisattva should do, i.e. not “approach” (upaiti = upa-eti), not “go to”, not “move in the direction of” form, and of the other elements which constitute a Bodhisattva as he is when he has attained. The word “approach” seems synonymous with “get at”,139 and even with “obtain”.140 According to Haribhadra141 one must insert at P 244 after “approach” (cf. ch. 20n. 1): “a Bodhisattva as something that should be attained, and that in its own-being consists of form, etc. Because that Bodhisattva, who should be attained, does not exist”.142 He does not approach the condition of a being who is perfectly identified with enlightenment. The remainder of both D2a and 2b is occupied with the ontological reasons for this practical attitude.

D2a. First of all, nothing is really ever brought forth. The translation here makes clumsy reading, because the words abhi-nir-vritti, abhi-nir-vritta (abhinibbatta in Pali) can, as far as I can see, not be rendered by one single English word. It have

8 i.e. A ii 47 = P f. 219.

9 cf. A xxvi 439: yas ca-atyanta-vivikta dharmo na so’stiti va nastiti va upaiti (“is got at”, “is applicable”).

0 Rgs I 22 = labhyate; Rgs I 23 = upalabhyate. H 114 upaiti = pratipadyate, “go to, arrive at, obtain, gain, receive, perceive, ascertain, consider”; ibd. the synonym upagacchati = svikaroti, “make his own”, “appropriate”.

1 p. 109.

42 nopaiti-iti bodhisattvam kamcit prapyam rupa-adi-svabhavam iti seshah. tasyaiva prapyasya bodhisattvasya-avidyamanatvad iti bhavah.

45

translated “is not really a created thing”. “Reproduced”, or “re-existence”, or “is really there” would also have been possible. The idea is akin to “produced”, “born”, and its negation (an-abhinirvritti) is explained by Haribhadra as “unborn”,143 or as “without own-being”.144 It has the traditional connotation of “produced in dependence on craving”.

D2b. The argument here assumes that what has never been brought forth, is “nonproduction”, or “the unproduced”. The dialetics of that concept is now investigated, and leads to the nonduality of all features of existence. An attainment obviously requires not only one, but quite a number of dualisms.

D2c. Thirdly,145 nonproduction is brought into direct relation with attainment. The sequence of the argument seems to be fairly clear:

1.

Sariputra points out that, if everything is “unproduced” and if “nonproduction” is equivalent to attainment, then everybody has already attained, without any effort, everything that can be attained. So what is the use of any spiritual striving? One must here bear in mind that the “cognition of nonproduction” is traditionally one of the chief attributes of an Arhat. Originally it meant that an Arhat perceives that unwholesome states will no more be produced in him. In the Mahayana the term acquires an ontological meaning.

2.

Subhuti, in reply, points out that

(a)

one should not “wish” for any spiritual results, and

(b)

that a sense of effort would not help the actual work of a Bodhisattva.

As to (a) one must remember that in Buddhist Sanskrit “to wish” (icchati), also “to desire”, “to expect”, is confused with eshati, “to strive”, “to seek for”, “to search”.146 The connectin between (a) and (b) is therefore clearer in Sanskrit than it is in English. The idea itself is similarly expressed in the Tathagataguhya147: “There is no production of a Buddha for those who wish for (icchanti) the production or stopping of

3 p. 617.

4 nih-sva-bhavah, to A ix, 206.

5 properly begins at P 257 = S fol. 100a.

6 To some extent the term was apparently confused even with ricchati = appeta,arpayati to procure.

7 Prasannapada 540 – 541.

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any dharma. Nor do those rise above birth-and-death who search for (paryeshanti, desire) a realistic (bhavatah) Nirvana”.

3. One then discusses the degree of fact there can be in the relation of the production of an attainment to the “unproduced”.

4. The argument ends with an indication that all this does not touch ultimate reality and ultimate truth, but is mere conventional talk.

D3. The Sutra concludes with a description of the practical attitude which alone can solve the logical difficulties advanced. We should not lean on anything.

This is first explained from an ontological angle (D3a), i.e. it is said of dharmas that they do not lean on anything. The nonleaningness is said to be in the nature of things. The term “not-leaning” (a-nisrita) can be applied to dharmas (1) either in their relation to our practical demands on them, or (2) in their relation with each other, or (3) it can be applied to persons in their relation to dharmas.148

In the first sense, it refers to the “unreliability” of dharmas which give our practical activity nothing to lean upon. As Haribhadra explains, “dharmas, because of the lack of either single or manifold own-being, are unworthy of reliance.”149

The second meaning is that of “independence” in connection with the analysis of causation. It occurs in such passages as: “That consciousness-element does not lean150 on the eye-organ, nor has it come from the stimuli, nor does it stand in the middle between them – not within, not without, not between both”.151 Or in the Vimalakirtinirdesa152: “What foundation153 is there for an imagination of what is unreal (abhuta-parikalpa)?” – “The foundation is a perverted (viparyasta) perception” – “What is the foundation of that?” – “The fact that it has no support

8 Sometimes all three meanings are intended, as in Dharmasangiti (Si 285, 11): “The teacher of emptiness is not captivated (samhriyate) by worldly dharmas, because of non-leaningness (a-nisritatvad).” 1

49 H 123: a-nisraya-arhtvad. nisraya = home, to reside in, to dwell in. asrayati = to take refuge in. – Also A xxx, 490: sarva-dharmeshv anisrita-samjna, where H comments: mayo-pama-samjna.

0 nisrito, is (not) dependent on.

1 Pitriputrasamagama, Si 250, 7.

2 Si, 264, 4. A more elegant rendering in Buddhist Texts, 1954, no 153.

3 lit. “root”, mula.

47

(a-pratishthanam)” – “What is the foundation of that?” – “This standing without support, of that there is no foundation at all. For all dharmas are supported (pratistishthita) on standing without support as their foundation”.

In the third meaning, persons, i.e. the Saints and Buddhas, are people who do not lean on anything. Haribhadra154 explains “not leaning” as “not inclined towards”, “not settled down in” (an-abhinivishta). This meaningo f the term prevails in the Pali Scriptures,155 where it is connected with the loss of lust and hate,156 with absence of clinging, grasping and attachment,157 with independence from the authority and guidance of others,158 and with absence of wavering.159 The scholastics of the Abhidhamma defined this state by the freedom from two “supports” (nissaya), i.e. craving and false views.160 Just as in this Sutra the discussion of “approaching” in P 244 sq. leads up to the “nonleaningness” of P 263, so also the Pali texts connect the two ideas.161 In a

een ni-sri-ta, “leaning”, and nih-sri-ta, “to find a way out”, which is fairly common in Buddhist literature.162 The connection

4 H 123.

5 cf. CPD.

6 anissito chetva sinehadosam, Sn (Pj).

7 anupadaya anissito kuhinci Sn 363 (Pj). – anissito anupadano Sn 753. – anissito viharati na ca kinciloke upadiyati D.N. II 292 = M.N. I 56. – Also Nd. and Pj to Sn 1069 syn. an-allino, not clinging, and so in A xxi, 393. 5

8 anissito ananna-neyyo Sn 364. In Prajnaparamita = a-paraprajneya in A xvii 329, 337, trsl. “others cannot lead him astray”. 15

9 anissitassa calitam n’atthi Ud. 81; anissito na calati Sn 752; Pts. II 206; anissitam cittam ditthiya na injati, quot. Ud-A 186, VM 386. – Also Si 285, 11 acalita anisritatvad. – Also in A I 31 dharmatayams ca na calati, and in A xii 273. 16

0 e.g. Niddesa. Sv to D.N. II 292.

1 pubbam antam anissito Sn 849 = P 244 sq. – tesu dhammesu anupayo anapayo anissito M.N. III 25, anupaya, from upa-I, like upaiti, means “without going near, without having a propensity for”, anapayo, “going away, lapse”. Also Nd. syn. an—upa-gata, as in A I 31. 16

2 e.g. Lankavatara 145: dvaya-nisrito’yam Mahamate loko yaduta astitvanisritas ca nastitva-nisritas ca bhava-abhavac-chanda- drishti- patitas ca anihsarance (V.R.: anihsritasya) nihsarana-buddhih. “People in the world depend on two things, i.e. on ‘it is’ and ‘it is not’; they fall into views through which they become keen on existence and non-existence. They imagine an escape where there is none.” - The beginning is an echo of S.N. II 17: dvaya-nissito … loko yebhuyyena atthitan ceva natthitan ca. – Nd gives as synonym of nissito nikkhanto from KRAM, gone away, departed. 48

was probably suggested by the assonance of the words,163 but, though etymologically false, it is metaphysically and religiously sound. “Nih-sarana” means “escape”,164 issuing from, flight to salvation. The term is analogous to Nirvana, and is closely connected with nir-yana, “going forth”,165 a synonym of the Path, which is discussed in this part of the Sutra. At the same time the word “Nihsarana” is loaded with associations with saranam “refuge”, which again implies a seeking for support,166 a place which one can flee to, on which one can rely, or in which one can find a refuge. When it is said that the Disciples “find a way out”, it means not only that “they are saved”, but also denotes a capacity to make the Dharma prevail in the face of any audience whatsoever.167

D3b. The practical side of this “nonleaning” is then explained in more detail relation to the practice of the six perfections.168 The translation follows P, which gives only the first and last perfections in detail. S, on the other hands, teats also the other four perfections in detail, but omits here the detailed account of the perfection of wisdom, which occurs elsewhere. It will be notice that at this point the Sutra develops more fully the theme which began the discussion at P 17.

D3c. Finally,169 the achievement of perfect wisdom, and the dwelling in it. In P and in S, D3b begins and ends with a reference to the “path of enlightenment” (bodhi-marga), which somewhat obscures the course of the argument. In A I 31, where the whole of D3b is missing, the connection of D3c with D3a is clearer and more explicit. It is there effected by the sentence: “Sariputra: Whish is, in the Bodhisattvas, this perfection of the nonleaning on

3 The namuscripts regularly confuse nisrit(y)a with nihsrit(y)a, often written nihsrit(y)a or nisrit(y)a. 6

4 so A xxiv 421. Mhv I 433. – (Lal. Vist.) Si 203, 16: bhava-nihsarane, in fleeing from becoming; 205, 12 and 18 speaks of jara-n. and duhkha-n., fleeing from old age and ill. – Sutralamkara p. 87: klesa-n., and ragasya-n., escape from defilements and greed. A.N. I 260 loke nissaranam, escape from the world. def. S.N. III 62, as forsaking of greed etc. – Si 236, 7 nihsaranam = buddhadharma = bodhi = marga. – cf. A.K. III 10, 200; VI 239; VII, 32-3, 37; VIII 140-1. 16

5 cf. H. 23: niryayur = niscitya prapnuyur.

6 in P 216 nisraya is used for “refuge”, and H 208 connects sarana with asraya. – A xvii 329 dharmatam eva pratisarati.

7 cf. Mpp-s. 354-6. H 123 connects with parihara, the ability to protect, guard or look after. 16

8 S fol. 137b (35) – 140a.

9 From S xiii, 140 (36) to S xiii, 144a.

49

all dharma?” to which Subhuti replies: “Just this perfection of wisdom”, etc. as D3c.

The reward of accepting these teachings is that the Bodhisattva “dwells in the dwelling of the perfection of wisdom”. It is one of the paradoxes of the Prajnaparamita literature that the relation of “support” which was rejected for the unconverted man in relation of “support” which was rejected for the unconverted man in relation to his environment, is now used to describe the relation of the wise to wisdom. The wise “rely on” wisdom, are supported by it.170 Although they are “unsupported”, although they do not “dwell on” anything, do not “stand” anywhere, have no “home” anywhere, yet they “dwell” in perfect wisdom as their “dwelling”> The phrase, “he dwells in the dwelling of the perfection of wisdom”, occurs frequently in this Sutra, and we have met it before.171 Haribhadra explains it to mean “the acquisition of wieldiness of thought in the four postures”.172 Wieldiness (Pali: kammannatta) can also be rendered as “adaptability”, “readiness for, flexibility”, and even by “an active mind”. “Wieldiness” is associated with “luminosity of mind”,173 and its opposite is also in the Pali Scriptures a mind that is “cowed”, stolid, stiff, rigid, inflexible, and which resists attempts to move it in a certain direction, or to certain actions. To “dwell” is a technical term which is regularly connected with the “four postures”,174 and it seems to indicate a condition, attitude, or state of mind, which is kept up in whatever position the body may find itself. One can therefore render the idea of “dwelling in the dwelling of perfect wisdom” by saying that “he adjusts himself, his whole personality, to perfect wisdom.”

170 Rgs IV 2: prajnaparamita-nisrita Buddha-dhatuh. – xii 7, prajnaparamita-nisrita dharma-rajo. – The Bodhisattvas and Buddhas as prajnaparamitam asritya in Hridaya. Synonyms for asritya are a-GAM-ya (in A) and adhisthaya (A.K. III 113). – Si 32, 4: sarvasattva buddhopanisraya-viharino bhavantu: may all beings come to dwell depending on the Buddhas. – prajnaparamitam upanisritya in A xii 274 (= Pali upanissaya, “resorting to” = arammanam alambanam karitva Nd II 368. – P 207: “based upon” viveka viraga nirodha. Sumangalavilasini 1019 says on that: viveko virago nirodho ti, tini pi nibbanassa namani … Tasma vivekanissitan ti adisu arammana-vasena va adhigantabbavasena va nibbana- nissitan ti attho. – It-A to It. 38: nibbana-dhatu nissitena tadina.

1 e.g. P 60, where S I 266 has – yogena for – viharena.

2 caturbhir iryapathais citta-karmanyatapadanat, H 125.

3 A.N. I 257. cf. P 121-2.

4 e.g. Asl. 167, VM 145.

50

In addition, he will “never cease from taking it to heart”. Literally, the text says, “he is not lacking in this attention”. This attitude is often coupled with the first, because of the assonance of the sounds involved, i.e. vharaty… viharena, aviharhitas ca… manasikarena. “Attention” can also mean “mental activity”, “mind work”, “action in the mind” (manasikara). Although a special mental function – the fixation of the mind on an object – it is nevertheless coextensive with all mental activity, and inseparable from it. An act of consciousness requires three conditions: an inward sense organ, an outward sense-object, and an act of attention.175 The difference between wholesome and unwholesome actions is due to the difference in the quality of the attention, which is either unwise (ayoniso),176 or wise (yoniso). The first, in conflict with the truth,177 turns to “signs”; the second is directed to Nirvana.178 The Sutra now considers the problem of the mutual relation of these two kinds of attention:

The difficulty which Sariputra raises in this respect is expressed more clearly in the Ashta. It is this: “Attention” is defined as a turning-towards of a mind-in-action and it makes thought support itself in the object”.179 Attention and perfect wisdom are therefore incompatible and mutually exclusive,180 and the presence of attention in perfect wisdom would pervert its essential being.181 One has either mental activity and no wisdom, or wisdom and no mental activity. Because, if one could have both, one and the other, then all beings would, without any effort (cf. P 258), have wisdom, because they all mental acitivity. On the

5 samanvahara. Prasannapada p. 553-5. M.N. 28, I. 190 and cy. Cpd 282 compares it to a charioteer who harnesses two horses (mind and object) into one pair. 17

6 ye keci bhikkave akusala dhamma, subhe te ayoniso- manasikara-mulaka: whatever unwholesome dharmas there are, they are all rooted in unwise attention S.N. I 91; VM 542. – D.N. III 273: eko dhammo hanabhagiyo: ayoniso-manasikaro. eka dhammo visesa-bhagiyo, yoniso-manasikaro. 7

7 sacca-vippatikulena Vbh. 373 = saccanam anuloma-vasena Vbh-A.

78 dve paccaya animittaya cetovimuttiya samapattiya: sabbanimittanan ca amanasikaro, animittaya ca dhatuya manasikaro. Two are the conditions of the attainment of the signless deliverance of the heart: nonattention to all signs, attention to the signless element. M.N. I 296. 1

79 H 125: manaskaras cetasa abhoga alambane citta-dharana- karmakah. Vasubandhu, A.K. II 154: alambane cetasa avarjanam avadharanam. – Vbh. 373: cittassa avattana anvattana abhogo samannaharo manasikaro. 18

0 H 125: paraspara-virodha: as we saw at B6a.

1 H 125: prajnaparamita-viharas ca tad-viparita-svabhava iti. 51

other hand, if we may complete the argument with a reflection from Asanga182: perfect wisdom “is not lack of mental activity because then it would be found in sleep and madness, where one does not think at all, and that cannot be, because then one would without effort arrive at the loss of perverted views”. Wise attention is indeed the cause of perfect wisdom.183

The answer is that no reality should be considered as identical and as consistent with itself, and that mental activity is in reality no mental activity.184 The difficulty arise only when one assumes that words refer to real entities. When one does not, all perverted views are avoided,185 and the problem disappears.

The Epilogue requires no comment.

2 Mahayanasamgraha VIII, 2, p. 233 – cy.

3 ib, VIII, 4.

4 H 126: kim tv amanaskara eva manaskaro’ bhipretah.

5 H 127: aviparyasa-pravrittatvad.

52

Outline of Chapters 1 – 21

A. PREFACE

1. THE SCENE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SERMON Ad-ch. 1

2. THE AIMS IN CULTIVATING PERFECT WISDOM AA I 1. Ad-ch. 2

3. VARIOUS PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS AA I 2. Ad-ch. 3

(a) Short outline of method of coursing in perfect wisdom. AA I 2, 1

(b)

Superiority of Bodhisattvas over Disciples

(c)

The Yoga of perfect wisdom. AA I 2, 2

(d)

Varieties of Bodhisattvas

i.

According to the circumstance of their rebirth. AA I 2, 3c

ii.

According to their practices.

1.

Perfect Purity. AA I 2, 4

2.

All-knowledge. AA I 2, 5

3.

Cognition of the All-knowing. AA I 2, 6

4.

The Five Eyes. AA I 2, 7

5.

The Six Superknowledges. AA I 2, 8

6.

Emptiness, No-minding and Sameness.

4. INTERLUDE (Ad-ch. 4, 5)

B. PHASES OF EXTINCTION OF SELF AND OF ANYTHING IT MAY BE BASED ON

1. THE PROCEEDS FROM THE BUDDHA’S MIGHT AA I 2, 9a. 1.Ad-ch. 6

2. THE BODHISATTVA, A MERE WORD, INACCESSIBLE AS DHARMA AA I 2, 9, 1

3. DEGREES OF RIPENESS IN INSIGHT AA I 2, 10. 1.Ad-ch. 7

4. THOUGHT TRANSPARENTLY LUMINOUS AA I 3d

5. HOW THE IRREVERSIBLE BODHISATTVA VIEWS THINGS AA I 3f. 1.Ad-ch. 8

6. PERFECT WISDOM OPPOSED TO

(a) Formative Influences. AA I 3h

(b) The Sign. AA I 3i

(c) What Exists. AA I 3k

7. THE BODHISATTVA, WISDOM, AND ENLIGHTENMENT AA I 3l. 1.Ad-ch. 9

8. THE BODHISATTVA AND HIS PREDICTION AA I 3p

9. ALL IS IGNORANCE AA I 3s

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10. ALL IS ILLUSION AA I 3v. 1.Ad-ch. 10

11. TWO FACTORS COUNTERACTING THE DEMORALIZING EFFECT OF THIS TEACHING

(a) Skill in Means. AA I 3w

(b) Good Friends, as contrasted with Bad Friends. AA I 3x

C. WHAT TO BECOME

I. THE MEANING OF “BODHI-BEING” AA I 4. Ad-ch. 11

CLASSES OF DHARMAS AA I 5

II.THE MEANING OF “GREAT-BEING”

1. A Saviour of Many. AA I 6, 1

2. He forsakes all false views. AA I 6, 2. Ad-ch. 12

3. Unattached to even the highest thought. AA I 6, 3.

4. Armed with the great armour. AA I 7. Ad-ch. 13

5. Set out in the great vehicle. AA I 8, 1

6. Mounted on the great vehicle. AA I 8, 6

7. Emancipation a Mock Show. AA I 9, 1. Ad-ch. 14

III. THE MEANING OF “GREAT-VEHICLE”

1. Its Constituents:

(a) Six Perfections. AA I 9, 11. Ad-ch. 15

(b) 20 Kinds of Emptiness. AA I 9, 12

(c) 112 Concentrations. AA I 9, 13

(d) 21 Practices. AA I 9, 14. Ad-ch. 16

(e) 43 Dharani-doors. AA I 9, 15.

(f) 10 Stages. AA I 9, 16. Ad-ch. 17

2. Three questions concerning the great vehicle.

AA I 9, 17. Ad-ch. 18

3. Why the “Great Vehicle” it so called.

AA I 10, 1. Ad-ch. 19

D. ATTAINMENT

1. The Bodhisattva goes forth to attainment. AA I 10, 6a. Ad-ch. 20

2. Impossibility of Attainment.

(a) Nothing is really ever brought forth. AA I 10, 6b

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(b) Nonduality. AA I 10, 6d

(c) Nonproduction. AA I 10, 7. Ad-ch. 21

3. No Leaning on Anything. - AA I 10, 8

EPILOGUE

In Chapters 1-21 three systems of division were used: (a) the chapters of Ad, (b) the divisions of AA which are an integral part of P, and (c) my own subdivisions, explained in detail in the ‘Introductory Remarks’. In the later chapters the third system has been dropped. Whereas I believed to discern an architectonic unity in chapters 1-21, there seems to be no such unity in the remainder of the sutra.

55

TRANSLATION OF THE SUTRA

56

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

A.

PREFACE.

(1.

The Scene and Circumstances of the Sermon.)

Thus have I heard at one time. The Lord dwelt at Rajagriha, on the Vulture Peak, together with a large gathering of monks, with 1250 monks, all of the Arhats – their outflows dried up, undefiled, fully controlled, quite freed in their hearts, well freed and wise, thoroughbreds, great Serpents, their work done, their task accomplished, their burden laid down, their own weal accomplished, with the fetters that bound them to becoming extinguished, their hearts well freed by right understanding, in perfect control of their whole minds –

With 500 nuns, laymen, and laywomen, all of them liberated in this present life –

And with hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of Bodhisattvas – (1) all of whom had acquired the Dharanis; (2) dwellers in emptiness, their sphere in the sign-less, who had not fashioned any desire for the future; (3) who had acquired sameness and patience186; (4) who had acquired the Dharani of nonattachment; (5) who had imperishable super-knowledges; (6) were of acceptable speech; (7) not tricksters; (8) not chatterers; (9) with thoughts that had left behind all desire for reputation and gain; (10) disinterested demonstrators of the spiritual dharma; (11) ready to accept deep dharmas without reserve; (12) who had obtained the grounds of self-confidence; (13) had transcended Mara’s deeds; (14) were free from obstacles caused by their (past) deeds; (15) and skilful in expounding the analysis of investigations

86 So Nagarjuna (pp. 325-7) seems to have understood this attribute. The Bodhisattva has won insight into two kinds of “sameness”, i.e. he knows that all beings are the same, and that all dharmas are the same. He also possesses two kinds of “patience”, - he is patient towards all beings, and he patiently accepts the Prajnaparamita teaching about the true nature of all dharmas – The Tibetan seems, however, to interpret as “he acquires the patient acceptance of the sameness of all dharmas”. 57

into dharmas; RIRI who had formed their vows incalculable aeons ago; (17) who address others with smiling countenances; (18) without a frown on their faces; (19) skilful in songs, chants and benedictions; (20) with thoughts free from sluggishness; (21) with their flashes of ideas uninterrupted; (22) endowed with self-confidence when engaged in overpowering endless assemblies; (23) skilled in going forth during endless kotis of aeons; (24) resolutely intent on dharmas which they held to be like an illusion, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, a dream, an echo, an apparition, an image in the mirror, a magical creation; (P5) (25) skilful in understanding the destiny of beings, their subtle thoughts, their conduct and intentions187; (26) with unobstructed thoughts188; (27) endowed with extreme patience; (28) skilful in teaching others how to penetrate to the true character of reality; (29) acquiring through their vows and their setting-out the endless harmonies of all the Buddha-fields; (30) always face to face with the concentrated recollection of the Buddhas of countless world systems; (31) skilful in soliciting189 innumerable Buddhas; (32) skilful in appeasing the various views, biases, prepossessions, and defilements; (33) and in producing a hundred thousand concentrations and in playing with them. They are the Bodhisattva Bhadrapala, the great being, the Bodhisattvas Ratnakara, Sarthavaha, Naradatta, Varunadatta, Subhagupta, Indradatta, Uttaramati, Visheshmati, Vardamanamati, Amoghadarsin, Susamprasthita, Suvikrantavikramin, Nityodyukta, Anikshiptadhura, Suryagarbha, Anupamacintin, Avalokitesvara, Mahasthamaprapta, Manjusri, Varamati, Ratnamudrahasta, Nityokshiptahasta and Maitreya the Bodhisattva, the great being, at the head of many hundred thousands of niyutas of kotis of Bodhisattvas.

(I)

Thereupon the Lord, having himself arranged the Lion Seat, sat down with his legs crossed; holding his body erect, intent on fixing his mindfulness, he entered into the concentration – “King

7 So I understand after the Tibetan of S. But Nagaruna (pp. 389-90): “Knowing the course of the thought and conduct of beings, they are skilful in saving them through their subtle wisdom”.

8 Or, alternatively, “their thought is free from hostility”. See also Nag 391-4.

9 “Soliciting”, or “invitation”, adhyeshana: This means that one asks the Buddhas (1) to preach the Dharma, (2) to postpone their entry into Nirvana, so that they may stay in the world and save beings. For the details see Nag 415-422.

58

of Concentrations” by name – in which all concentrations are included, comprehended and come to meet.

Thereupon the Lord, mindful and self-possessed, emerging from this concentration, (P6) surveyed with the Heavenly Eye the entire world system. His whole body became radiant. From the wheels with a thousand spokes (imprinted) on the soles of his feet issued 60 hundred thousand niyutas of kotis of rays, and so from his ten toes, and similarly from his ankles, legs, knees, thighs, hips and navel, from his two sides, and from the sign “Srivatsa”190 on his chest, a mark of the Superman. Similarly from his ten fingers, his two arms, his two shoulders, from his neck, his forty teeth, his two nostrils, ears and eyes, from the hair-tuft in the middle between his eye-brows, and from the cowl on the top of his head. And through these rays this great trichiliocosm191 was illumined and lit up. And in the East world systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges were, by this great illumination of rays, lit up and became illumined. So in the South, the West, the North, the North-East, the South-East, the South-West, the North-West, below and above. And the beings who were lit up and illumined by this great illumination of rays, they all became fixed on192 the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment. (P7)

(II)

Thereupon all the Lord’s hair-pores became radiant, and from each single pore issued 60 hundred thousand of niyutas of kotis of rays through which this great trichiliocosm was illumined and lit up. And in the East world systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges were, by this great illumination of rays, lit up and illumined. And so in the other nine directions. And the beings, who were lit up and illumined by this great illumination of rays, they all became fixed on the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.

(III)

Thereupon, the Lord again, with the natural splendour of the Buddhas, the Lords, illumined the great trichiliocosm. And so on, up to: In all the ten directions, in each single direction, world systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges were illumined by His splendour. And the beings who were touched by this splendour, they were all fixed on the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.

0 i.e. the Svastika.

1 See my Buddhist Wisdom Books, 1958, p. 40.

2 = definitely oriented towards. “Intent on”, “focused on”, “set on” might be more elegant renderings.

59

(IV)

Thereupon the Lord on that occasion put out his tongue. With it he covered the great trichiliocosm193 and many hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of rays issued from it. From each one of these rays there arose lotuses, made of the finest precious stones, of golden colour, and with thousands of petals; and on those lotuses there were, seated and standing, Buddha-frames194 demonstrating dharma, i.e. this very demonstration of dharma associated with the six perfections. They went in all the ten directions to countless world systems in each direction (P8), and demonstrated dharma to beings, i.e. this very demonstration of dharma associated with the six perfections. And the beings who heard this demonstration of dharma, they became fixed on the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.

(V)

Thereupon the Lord, seated on that very Lion Seat, entered into the concentration called “The Lion’s Play”. With his supernatural power he shook this great trichiliocosm in six ways – it moved, moved back, trembled, trembled from one end to another, tossed, tossed along. At the sides it rose up, in the middle it sank down; in the middle it rose up, at the sides in sank down; it became soft and pliable, and all beings came to be at ease.

Thereupon, at that moment, minute and second, in this great trichiliocosm the hells, and the animal world, and the world of Yama,195 they all were abolished and became empty, and all the places of untoward rebirth disappeared. And the beings who had deceased in these destinies – i.e. the hells, the animal births, and the world of Yama – they all, through their very joy and rejoicing, were reborn among men, and also among the six kinds of gods (of the realm of sense desire). (P9)

Thereupon these men and gods, through the very might of the Lord recalled their former lives. In their great joy and rejoicing they then approached the Lord, saluted his feet with their heads, raised their folded hands to the Lord and paid homage to him. And so in each one of the ten directions, in world systems countless

3 The Buddha’s tongue symbolizes his veracity, or the truth of what he says. In the Rig Veda already Agni’s tongue, the priestly voice, “touches heaven”. S. Thomas Acquinas has a similar idea when he says: “The tongue of an angel is called metaphorically the angel’s power, whereby he manifests his mental concepts. Since the intellectual operations of an angel have no reference to here and now, in angelic speech distance is no impediment”.

4 A “Buddha-frame” is the figure of a Buddha, magically conjured up by the real Buddha.

5 Yama is the Judge of the Dead, and the king of the underworld. 60

as the sands of the Ganges, all the hells, animal births, and worlds of Yama were abolished and became empty, and all untoward moments196 disappeared. And the beings who deceased in these three destinies, they all, through their very joy and rejoicing, were reborn among men, and also among the six kinds of gods (of the realm of sense desire). And those who were thus reborn among gods and men, through the might of the Lord, recalled their former lives. They then, in their great joy and rejoicing, went each to his own Buddha-field and approached the presence of the Buddha, the Lord who had arisen therein, saluted his feet, and they all raised their folded hands and paid homage to the Lord.

Thereupon in this great trichiliocosm the beings who were born blind saw forms with their eyes; the deaf heard sounds with their ears; the insane regained their mindfulness; those with distracted thoughts became one-pointed in their thoughts. The hungry were fed, the thirsty found their thirst stilled, the sick were healed and the crippled made whole. Those with unwholesome deeds of body, word and mind, and with unwholesome livelihood gave up their unwholesome habits. (P10) All beings considered each other as one considers one’s mother, father, brother, sister, friends, companions, kinsmen; and relations; and they tended the ten wholesome paths of action. Guarding their chastity197, pure, they lived in the odour of sanctity. And all beings, possessed of all happiness, acquired the ease which a monk feels when immersed in the third Trance.198 And at that very time they were endowed with such wisdom that the Buddhas and Lords in other Buddha-fields cried out: “Good is self-discipline! Good is quietude! Good is self-mastery! Good is it to have observed the practice of the religious life!199 Good is the non-harming of living beings!”

(VI)

Thereupon the Lord, seated on this very Lion Seat, over-towered this great trichiliocosm. There the Tathagata stood in all his glory, shone forth, gleamed and shed light, surpassing with his splendour, lustre, brilliancy, and beauty world systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in each of the ten directions. He did so in the same way in which Sumeru, king of mountains, over-towering all mountains, stands, shines forth, gleams, and

6 Or: places of unpropitious rebirth. If a man is born at an “untoward moment”, it is the concentration of the misfortunes which result from the bad deeds of his past.

7 brahmacarya

8 See my Buddhist Meditation, 1956, p. 117.

9 brahmacarya 61

sheds light, surpassing them with its splendour, lustre, brilliancy, and beauty.

(VII)

Thereupon the Lord exhibited His own natural body in this great trichiliocosm. The gods of the world of sense desire and of the world of form, in this great trichiliocosm (P11), saw that glorified body of the Tathagata. They took celestial flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, robes, parasols, flags, banners, and streamers; they took celestial lotuses – blue lotuses, night lotuses, water lilies, white lotuses- they took Kesara flowers and Tamala leaves; and they approached with them the glorified body of the Tathagata. Likewise the human beings in this great trichiliocosm took land and water flowers and approached the Tathagata’s glorified body. Both gods and men then strewed these flowers, etc., over the body of the Tathagata. By the sustaining power of the Buddha all these flowers, etc., formed high in the firmament one single pointed tower, which had the dimensions of the great trichiliocosm. And from this tower the celestial flowers and silken tassels hung down and were suspended, and they made this great trichiliocosm look very beautiful. And because the brightly shining golden colour of the Lord streamed forth in the ten directions, in each direction countless world systems were (P12) lit up and illumined. In this great trichiliocosm, and in all the world systems, the same thought occurred to each one of these gods and men: “It is for me that the Tathagata, seated there, demonstrates Dharma”.

(VIII)

Thereupon the Lord, seated on this very Lion Throne, smiled once again. Through the illumination from that smile this great trichiliocosm, and the innumerable world systems in the ten directions, were lit up. And all the beings in this great trichiliocosm saw the Buddhas, the Lords, and their assemblies of disciples in countless world systems in the East. And conversely, all the beings in countless world systems in the East saw this Saha200 world system, and Sakyamuni, the Tathagata, together with his community of monks.

(IX)

In the East, beyond countless world systems, at the very limit of these world systems, there is a world system called Ratnavati.201 In it the Tathagata Ratnakara202 stands, holds and

0 This is the name of the world in which we live.

1 “Thick with jewels”, “Jewel mine”.

2 “Thick with jewels”, “Jewel mine”. 62

maintains himself.203 He demonstrates to the Bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom as the Dharma. Now, in that world system a Bodhisattva, a great being, called Samantarasmi204 saw this great illumination, and this great shaking of the earth, and this glorified body of the Lord, and he approached the Lord Ratnakara, the Tathagata, saluted his feet with his head, and said to him: “What is the cause, O Lord, (P13) what is the reason for this great illumination being manifested in the world, and for this great shaking of the earth, and for the exhibition of the glorified body of that Tathagata?”

The Tathagata Ratnakara replied: “There is, O son of good family, from here in the Western direction, beyond countless world systems, a world system called Saha. There the Tathagata Sakyamuni stands, holds, and maintains himself he reveals the perfection of wisdom to the Bodhisattvas, the great beings. This is his doing.”

Samantarasmi replied: “I will go to that Saha world system, to see, salute, and honour that Tathagata Sakyamuni, and those Bodhisattvas, great beings, for the most part candidates to Buddha-hood, who have acquired the Dharanis, are skilful in the consummation of the concentrations, and have reached the highest control over all the concentrations.”

Ratnakara said: “go then, you son of good family, for the right time has come.”

Thereupon the Tathagata Ratnakara gave to the Bodhisattva Samantarasmi lotuses made of manifold jewels, shining like gold, each with thousands of petals. “These lotuses, O son of good family, scatter over the Tathagata Sakyamuni! And say to him: ‘The Lord Ratnakara hopes that the Lord Sakyamuni is well and free from sickness, alert and buoyant, strong, happy and comfortable. And these lotuses have been sent to the Lord by this Lord Ratnakara, the Tathagata’! Act with full self-possession in that Buddha-field! For the Bodhisattvas who are reborn in that Saha world system are difficult to deal with.” (P14)

Thereupon the Bodhisattva Samantarasmi took from the Tathagata Ratnakara those lotuses made of manifold jewels, shining like gold, each with a thousand petals. He was surrounded

3 This is a cryptic phrase for describing a Buddha's presence in this, or any other, world system.

4 “Rays-all-round”.

63

and accompanied by many hundred of thousands of niyutas of kotis of Bodhisattvas, both householders and recluses, and by young men and women. And before they left they honoured, worshipped, and revered the Buddhas and Lords in the world-systems of the East.

(X)

With the flowers, etc., he reached the Saha world system, approached the Tathagata Sakyamuni, salted the Lord’s feet with his head, and stood on one side. The Bodhisattva Samantarasmi then said to the Lord Sakyamuni: “The Lord Ratnakara hopes that the Lord Sakyamuni is well and free from sickness, alert and buoyant, strong, happy and comfortable. It is the Tathagata Ratnakara who has despatched to the Lord these lotuses made of manifold jewels, shining like gold, with thousands of petals.”

Thereupon the Lord Sakyamuni, the Tathagata took up these lotuses, and threw them in the Eastern direction into countless world systems, which were lit up by these lotuses. Buddha-frames were seated on those lotuses. In those Buddha-fields they demonstrated dharmas, i.e. this very demonstration of dharma associated with the perfection of wisdom. And the beings who heard that dharma became fixed on the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.

Thereupon those Bodhisattvas, both the householders and recluses, and the young men and women who had come from that world system Ratnavati with Samantarasmi, the Bodhisattva, the great being, each on by virtue of his own wholesome roots205 revered, respected, honoured and worshipped the Lord Sakyamuni, and sat down on one side.

So far about the East (P15). From all the ten directions Bodhisattvas came to the Lord Sakyamuni. The same scene took place, but the names of the world system, the Tathagata, and the Bodhisattva differ in each case. They are: for the South Sarvasokapagato, Asokasri, and Vigatasoko respectively; for the West Upasanta, Ratnarcis, Caritramati; for the North Jaya, Jayendra, Jayadatta; (P16) for the North-East Samadhyalankrita, Samadhihastyuttarasri, Vijayavikramin; for the South-East Bodhimandala- karasurucira, Padmottarasri, Padmahasta; for the South-West Vigatarajahsancaya, Suryamandalaprabhasottamasri,

5 I.e. the merits they had acquired in the past enabled them to perform this act of reverence. Without them they would neither have seen the Buddha, nor felt the urge to worship Him.

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Surya- prabhasa; for the North-West Vasibhuta, Ekacchattra, Ratnottama; (P17) for the region below Padma, Padmasri, Padmottara; and for the region above Nanda, Nandasri, Nandadatta.

Thereupon at that moment, minute and second, this great trichiliocosm became composed of206 the seven precious substances207, and was over-strewn with flowers. Bundles of silken tassels were affixed to it, and it was adorned with Kalpa trees208 – manifoldly ornamented with branches bending down with fruits – with trees with flowers and fruits, with perfumes and garlands. Just like the world system Padmavati, the Buddha-field of the Tathagata Samantakusuma, where Manjusri the Crown the Prince resides, and the Bodhisattva Susthitamati, and other very powerful Bodhisattvas.

6 = was changed into.

7 See my Buddhist Wisdom Books, 1958, p. 40.

8 This seems to refer to the fabulous trees of Indra’s paradise, which are said to grant all wishes.

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CHAPTER 2 THE THOUGHT OF ENLIGHTENMENT

(2. The Aims in Cultivating Perfect Wisdom.)

THE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL MODES

I 1. The Varieties of the Thought of Enlightenment.

I 1a. THE THOUGHT OF ENLIGHTENMENT CONNECTED WITH THE DESIRE FOR FULL ENLIGHTENMENT, IN GENERAL

When the Lord saw that the whole universe, with the world of the gods, the world of Mara, the world of Brahma, with its sramanas and brahmanas, had assembled, and also the Bodhisattvas who would one day reach the state of a Buddha, he said to the Ven. Sariputra: A Bodhisattva, a great being who wants to fully know all dharmas (P18) in all their modes209 should make endeavours in the perfection of wisdom.

I 1b. THE THOUGHT OF ENLIGHTENMENT, CONNECTED WITH THE DESIRE FOR FULL ENLIGHTENMENT, IN DETAIL.

Sariputra: How then should he make endeavours in the perfection of wisdom?

The Lord: Here, Sariputra, a Bodhisattva, a great being, having stood in the perfection of wisdom, by way of not taking his stand on it, should perfect the perfection of giving, by way of seeing that no renunciation has taken place, since gift, giver, and recipient have not been apprehended. He should perfect himself in the perfection of morality, through not transgressing into either offence or non-offence. He should perfect the perfection of patience and remain imperturbable. He should perfect the perfection of vigour, and remain indefatigable in his physical and mental vigour. He should perfect the perfection of meditation, and derive no enjoyment (from transic meditation). He should perfect the

9 or “aspects’. See also Nag. 640-2.

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perfection of wisdom, on account of the fact that he apprehends neither wisdom nor stupidity.210

I 1c. THE THOUGHT OF ENLIGHTENMENT, WHICH HAS THE WELFARE OF OTHERS FOR ITS OBJECT, IN GENERAL.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who wants to lead to Nirvana, into the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind, all the beings who are in each of the ten quarters, in world systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges – he should train in Perfect Wisdom.

I 1d. THE THOUGHT OF ENLIGHTENMENT, WHICH HAS THE WELFARE OF OTHERS FOR ITS OBJECT, IN DETAIL.

Likewise, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train himself in perfect wisdom if he desires to establish niggardly beings in giving, the immoral in morality, those abounding in ill will in patience, the slothful in vigour, those with distracted thoughts in concentrated meditation (P19) and the stupid in the achievement of wisdom.

I 1e. THE 22 VARIETIES OF THE THOUGHT OF ENLIGHTENMENT.

I 1e,1. ASSOCIATED WITH DETERMINATION, AND LIKE THE EARTH.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great beings who wants to know fully all dharmas in all their modes should stand in Perfect Wisdom.

I 1e,2. ASSOCIATED WITH EARNEST INTENTION, AND LIKE BRIGHT GOLD.

Thus the Bodhisattva, the great being should here, having stood in the perfection of wisdom, by way of not taking his stand on it, perfect the perfection of giving, on account of the non-apprehension of gift, giver, and recipient. And so with the perfection of morality… perfection of wisdom, on account of the non-apprehension of either wisdom or stupidity (see I,1b).

I 1e,3. ASSOCIATED WITH RESOLUTE INTENTION, AND LIKE THE NEW MOON.

Thus having stood in the perfection of wisdom, a Bodhisattva, a great being should fulfil the four stations of mindfulness; the four right efforts; the four bases of psychic power; the five dominants; the five powers; the seven limbs of enlightenment; the eightfold

0 This definition of the six perfections is so important that it is repeated at P 26 and 89. Nearly the who second volume of E. Lamotte’s translation of Mpp-s (pp.650-1013) is devoted to its elucidation.

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Path. He should develop the emptiness concentration, the sign-less concentration, the wish-less concentration. So he should develop the four trances, the four Unlimited, the four formless attainments, the eight deliverances, the nine attainments of successive stations, and the nine unlovely perceptions. Which nine? I.e. he perception of a swollen corpse, a worm-eaten corpse, a festering corpse, a bloody corpse (P20), a bluefish corpse, a corpse being devoured, a scattered corpse, a burned corpse, a corpse of only bones. He should develop the perception of revulsion from food. He should develop the recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, of the Sangha, of morality, of renunciation, of the Gods, of breathing, of agitation, of death, of what belongs to the body; the perception of impermanence, of ill, of not-self, un-loveliness, death, lack of delight in anything in the world, distrust for every thing in the world; the cognition of ill, origination, stopping, path; the cognition of extinction, of non-production, the cognition of dharma, the subsequent cognition, the cognition conforming to worldly convention, the cognition of mastery, the cognition according to the letter. He should develop the concentration with thoughts adjusted and discursive; the concentration without thoughts adjusted, and with only discursive thoughts; the concentration without either thought adjusted or thoughts discursive. He should develop the dominant “I shall come to understand the not yet understood”, the dominant of understanding, the dominant of one who has understood. He should develop the stations of mastery, the all-bases, the cognition of the all-knowing, both calming-down and insight, the three knowledges, the four analytical knowledges, the four grounds of self-confidence, (P21) the five imperishable super-knowledges, the six perfections, the seven prizes, the eight discoursings of the Superman, the ten powers of a Tathagata, the eighteen Buddha-dharmas; the great friendliness, the great compassion, the great pathetic joy, the great even-mindedness.

I 1e,4. ASSOCIATED WITH EXERTION, AND LIKE A BLAZING FIRE.

A Bodhisattva, a great being who wants fully to know the cognition of the All-knowing, which is furnished with the best of all modes, should develop the perfection of wisdom.211 A Bodhisattva, a

1 The translation here follows S 67, instead of P. The phrase “furnished with the best of all modes” is explained in Sikshasamuccaya, p. 272.

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great being who wants to fulfil the knowledge of the paths, to reach the knowledge of all modes, to fulfil the cognition of the thoughts and doings of all beings, to tear out the defilements and all the residues relating to them, should make efforts in the perfection of wisdom. Thus should a Bodhisattva, a great being be trained in perfect wisdom. Likewise he should train in perfect wisdom if he wants to enter into the fixed condition of a Bodhisattva, to pass beyond the level of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha, to stand on the irreversible stage, completely to pass beyond the stave of a Crown Prince, to attain the six super-knowledges, to become aware of the restless thoughts and doings of all beings, to surpass the cognition of all Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas, to acquire the Dharani-doors and the concentration-doors,

I 1e,5. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFECTION OF GIVING, AND LIKE A GREAT TREASURY.

to establish stingy beings in giving, desirous of surpassing the gifts which are given by all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas by means of one single production of a thought associated with Rejoicing,212 (P22)

I 1e,6. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFECTION OF MORALITY, AND LIKE A JEWEL MINE.

to establish the immoral in morality,

I 1e,7. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFECTION OF PATIENCE, AND LIKE THE GREAT OCEAN.

those with angry thoughts in patience,

I 1e,8. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFECTION OF VIGOUR, AND LIKE A THUNDERBOLT.

the slothful in vigour,

I 1e,9. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFECTION OF MEDITATION, AND LIKE A MOUNTAIN.

those with distracted thoughts in trance,

I 1e,10. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM, AND LIKE A

2 For a description of Rejoicing see A chapter 6. 69

REMEDY.

the stupid in wisdom,

I 1e,11. ASSOCIATED WITH SKILL IN MEANS, AND LIKE A TEACHER.

A Bodhisattva, a great being who wants to make by skilful conversion213 one single production of thought, directed to the knowledge of all modes, into an immeasurable and incalculable one, should also train in perfect wisdom. Having given but a little gift, having guarded but a little morality, having developed but a little patience, having exerted but a little vigour, having entered trance but a little, having developed wisdom but a little, a Bodhisattva, a great being, who wants by skilful conversion to make (this small amount) for all beings on account of the knowledge of all modes214 into an immeasurable and incalculable one, should train in perfect wisdom.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who wants to course in the perfection of giving, should train in perfect wisdom; and so (2) – (6) with the other five perfections.

A Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (7), for the sake of all (P23) beings, patiently to endure the sufferings of the hells, of animal births, and the world of Yama; (8) out of regard for beings to renounce *the merit gained from) morality, though it had been piled up for hundreds of aeons; (9) to be reborn in the family of the Buddha; (10) to achieve the eighty minor characteristics and (11) the thirty-two marks of a Superman;

I 1e,12. ASSOCIATED WITH THE VOW, AND LIKE A WISHING JEWEL.

(12) to achieve the body of a Buddha; (13) to step on to stage of a Crown Prince; (14) never to be without the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being, should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (15) with one single voice to instruct countless world systems in each one of the ten directions; (16) to ensure the unbroken tradition of the Triple Jewel; (17) to foster in himself all the wholesome roots which will enable him to respect, honour, revere, and worship the Tathagatas.

3 Or “dedication”, “transformation”. See A ch. 6.

4 The meritorious actions enumerated above are dedicated to the aim of making all beings win the knowledge of all modes. If directed to this purpose, they automatically become infinitely more effective, because more and more selfless. 70

I 1e,13. ASSOCIATED WITH THE POWERS, AND LIKE THE SUN.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (18) to fulfil the wishes of all beings for food, drink, garments, perfumes, garlands, flowers, incense, medicinal powders, ointments, beds, seats, houses, money, grain, ornaments, jewels, gems, pearls, lapis lazuli, shells, quartz, coral, gold, silver, groves, kingdoms, etc.; (P24) to establish in the six perfections all beings in the world which has as its highest (development) the Dharma-element, and the space element as its terminus (limit)215; (20) to make one single production of a skilful thought unfailing until the time when full enlightenment is reached on the terrace of enlightenment; (21) to be praised by the Buddhas and Lords in the ten directions;

I 1e,14. ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITION, AND LIKE A SWEET SONG.

(22) to be trained in the eighteen kinds of emptiness, i.e. the emptiness of the subject, etc.; (23) to look through to the Suchness of all dharmas, (24) to the Suchness of all dharmas; (24) to the Suchness of the Dharma-element, etc. to; (25) the Suchness of all reality limits;216 (P25), (26) to cognize in the great trichiliocosm the atomic entities217 of earth, water, fire, and air.

(27) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being, when coursing in perfect wisdom, knows that a gift thus218 given is fruitful. When he has thus given a gift, he is reborn in good families, i.e. among warriors, Brahmins or householders; or among various kinds of gods. Such a gift is also conducive to the acquisition of the first trance, and so on to the eight trance, to the acquisition of the thirty-seven dharmas which act as wings to enlightenment, of the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: to acquisition of Pratyekabuddha-hood, of full Buddha-hood.

Moreover, (28) a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, should know that gift thus given with skill in means fulfils the perfection of giving. And so with the other five perfections. (P26)

Sariputra: How is the perfection of giving fulfilled by a Bodhisattva, a great being who gives a gift, and how the other five

5 This somewhat obscure phrase also occurs at p 87, s 1444.

6 S “the reality-limits of all dharmas”.

7 This means the atoms of which all material things are composed.

8 i.e. in the spirit of perfect wisdom, or, as at (28), “with skill in means”. “Fruit” means “reward”.

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perfections?

The Lord: the perfection of giving is fulfilled when gift, giver, and receiver are not taken as a basis; the perfection of morality through not transgressing into either offence or non-offence; the perfection of patience through imperturbability; the perfection of vigour through indefatigability of body and mind; the perfection of meditation by the absence of distractions and representation; the perfection of wisdom by wisely knowing all dharmas without looking for definite facts. In this way are the six perfections fulfilled by a Bodhisattva, a great being who gives a gift. In the same way are all the six perfections fulfilled in the perfection of morality, etc. to the perfection of wisdom. (P27)

I 1e,15. ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUPERKNOWLEDGES, AND LIKE A GREAT KING.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (29) to transcend, through the production of one single thought, countless world systems in each of the ten directions; (30) to lift, with the fine point of the tip of a hair split a hundredfold, all the watery element in the great trichiliocosm, that there is in the great oceans, in rivers great and small, in ponds and pools, without, however, wanting to hurt the beings inhabiting it; (31) to blow out with one mighty breath from his mouth the fires in the great trichiliocosm which is all aflame with the universal conflagration raging at the end of an aeon;219 (32) to cover with the tip of the joint of one single finger the all-shaking whirlwind which, when it proceeds, shakes, disperses, and reduces to dust the entire earth and all the mountains, beginning with Sumeru, the great Sumeru, the mountain rings, the great mountain rings; (P28) (33) to irradiate during one single session of cross-legged meditation the entire space-element in the great trichiliocosm; (34) after he has, with one single hair, tied up and uplifted the mountains in the great trichiliocosm, i.e. Sumeru, the great Sumeru, the mountain rings, the great mountain rings, etc., to hurl them forth beyond countless world systems.

Moreover, (35) a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants, in each of the ten directions, in all Buddha-fields, to see the Buddhas and Lords with the heavenly eye;

9 Three catastrophes, due to water, fire, and wind, mark the end of a “great aeon” See A.K. III 184, 215.

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to hear their demonstration of Dharma with the heavenly ear; to know the thoughts and doings of all beings, to remember their former lives, to call forth the super-knowledge of the cognition of the extinction of the outflows, and to realize the Reality limit.

I 1e,16. ASSOCIATED WITH THE EQUIPMENT WITH COGNITION AND MERIT, AND LIKE A STOREHOUSE OF JEWELRY.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (36) to present with one single alms bowl all the Buddhas and Lords, together with their congregations of disciples, as many as there are in the worlds systems countless as the sands of the Ganges, in each single direction; and equally so a Bodhisattva, a great being who wants to honour respect, revere, and worship those Tathagatas with showers of flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, unguents, aromatic powders, strips of cloth, parasols, flags and streamers. Moreover a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (37) to establish all beings in countless world systems, in each one of the ten directions, in the five portions220 of the Dharma, i.e. in morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, the vision and cognition of liberation; in the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: in Pratyekabuddha-enlightenment, etc., to: in the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind. (P29)

I 1e,17. ASSOCIATED WITH THE WINGS OF ENLIGHTENMENT, AND LIKE A HIGHWAY.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (38) to gain the Buddha-qualities of the past, future, and present Buddhas and Lords; (39) to go beyond (the contrast of) conditioned and unconditioned dharmas; (40) to look through to the Suchness of all dharmas, past, future, and present, and to reach the non-production limit;

I 1e,18. ASSOCIATED WITH CALMING-DOWN AND INSIGHT, AND LIKE A CHARIOT.

(41) to win precedence over all Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas; (42) to become an attendant of the Buddhas and Lords; (43) to belong to the intimate retinue of the Buddhas and Lords; (44) to have a great retinue, and to acquire a retinue of Bodhisattvas; and (45) to purify the donations made by others. Moreover, a

0 Or “constituents”, skandha. 73

Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (46) to suppress all thought of meanness; (47) to prevent all thought of immorality and (48) of ill will from ever recurring; (49) to abandon all thought of indolence; (50) to prevent all distracted thoughts and (51) all stupid thoughts from ever recurring.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants to establish all beings (52) in the foundation of meritorious work consisting in giving, (53) in the foundation of meritorious work consisting in morality (P30); (54) in the foundation of meritorious work consisting in meditational development; (55) in the foundation of meritorious work connected with the service; (56) in the foundation of meritorious work derived from material gifts given in faith to the Tathagata.221

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (57) to produce the five eyes, i.e. the fleshly eye, the heavenly eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma-eye, the Buddha-eye; (58) to see, in each of the ten directions, with the heavenly eye the Buddhas and Lords, countless like the sands of the Ganges; to hear, with the heavenly ear, the dharmas which those Buddhas and Lords teach; to comprehend, with his heart, as it really is, the thought of those Buddhas and Lords; to recall the Bodhisattva-hood, connected with their previous lives, of those Buddhas and Lords; and to see the display of their wonderworking power.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (59) to keep in mind, until he fully awakens to enlightenment, by the assumption of the power of unbroken memory, all the dharmas which the Buddhas, the Lords teach in all the ten directions in all the world systems, after he has heard them; (60) to see the Buddha-fields of the past Buddhas and Lords, of the future Buddhas and Lords (P31), and of those Buddhas and Lords who just now in the world, in all the ten directions, stand, hold, and maintain themselves;

I 1e,19. ASSOCIATED WITH THE INSPIRATION OF THE DHARANIS, AND LIKE UNTO A FOUNTAIN.

(61) to learn whatever has been taught, or is being taught, or

1 This list of five punyakriyavastuni differs at (55) from that in Mhvy. 1699-1703. The “service” is understood to be rendered to the Buddha, or to monks and holy men.

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will be taught, by the Buddhas, the Lords in the ten directions – i.e. the Discourses, Discourses in Prose and Verse Mingled, Predictions, Verses, Summaries, Origins, Thus-was-said, Birth Stories, Expanded Texts, Marvels, Tales, Expositions, and what has not been heard by the Disciples – to bear it in mind, to preach it, to progress to its Thusness,222 and to illuminate it in detail for others.

I 1e,20. ASSOCIATED WITH THE BESTOWAL OF DHARMA AND LIKE A DELIGHTFUL SOUND.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants (62) to illuminate, in each one of the ten directions, in world systems countless like the sands of the Ganges, all the regions of darkness which the light of sun and moon cannot reach; (63) to proclaim, in each of the ten directions, in countless world systems, the message of the Buddha, of the Dharma, of the Sangha, to all the beings who are reborn in the various Buddha-fields, and to establish all those beings in right view. (P32)

I 1e,21. ASSOCIATED WITH THE PATH OF THE ONE VEHICLE, AND LIKE A RIVER IN FULL SPATE.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wishes (64) that all the beings who are blind, in each one of the ten directions, in countless world systems, should, by his might, see forms with their eyes; that the deaf should hear sounds with their ears; the insane regain their mindfulness, the naked obtain clothes, and the hungry be fed; that those beings who were reborn in the states of woe should be freed from all the states of woe and acquire human bodies; that he will help to establish the immoral in morality, the unconcentrated in concentration, the stupid in wisdom, those unliberated in liberation, those who have no vision and cognition of liberation in the vision and cognition of liberation,223 those who do not see the Truths in the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc., to: in the enlightenment of a Pratyekabuddha, in the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.

2 The word tathatva occurs often in these Sutras, but to my knowledge it is nowhere explained either in the text or the commentaries. The Tibetan equivalent is the same as that for tathata, “suchness”. The phrase probably means, “to arrive at an understanding of what it really means”.

3 This again is the list of the five “portions” of the Dharma; see note 220.

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I 1e,22. ASSOCIATED WITH THE DHARMA-BODY, AND LIKE A GREAT RAIN CLOUD.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being should train in perfect wisdom if he wants to (65) train himself in the bearing224 of a Tathagata. (P33) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, should consider (a) “Where then will I (immediately before my Parinirvana) cast back the elephant look?”225 He should consider that he should train in perfect wisdom, (b) so that, his feet may glide at least four inches above the ground; (c) so that, surrounded by all the gods, revered by many hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of gods, he may approach the foot of the tree of enlightenment; (d) so that those same gods may spread out a carpet at the root of the tree of enlightenment; (e) so that, when he has fully known the utmost, right, and perfect enlightenment – whether he walks, stands, sits, or lies down – that spot of earth may become Adamantine;226 (f) so that he may know full enlightenment of the very day that he leaves home, and on that very same day turn the wheel of Dharma; (P34) so that, when he turns the wheel of Dharma, countless beings purity the dispassionate unstained Dharma-eye in regard to dharmas, are freed from the outflows without further clinging, and become irreversible from full enlightenment; (g) so that he may have a community of disciples that can neither be measured nor calculated – countless beings, through one single demonstration of Dharma, becoming austere and solitary Arhats,227 or Bodhisattvas,

4 irayapatha, lit. “postures”, a term pregnant with meaning and not yet fully explored. S 110 explains to some extent by adding: “if he wants to train in the purity of the conduct and practices of a Tathagata, in the perfect purity of His deeds of body, speech and mind, which are always preceded and controlled by His cognition”. 22

5 See my Buddhist Scriptures, 1959, p. 60. – This refers to the occasion when the Buddha cast a last look a Vaisali before he left that city to go to his Parinirvana. On that occasion He turned round his entire body, as a elephant does when he gazes at something, for the bones in a Buddha’s neck are more firmly fixed than those of ordinary men. Hence one speaks of an “elephant look”. Cf. also Mil. 398: “As the elephant turns his whole body when he looks, always looking straight before him, not glancing round this way or that, just so should the Yogi, etc.”

6 Ordinary earth or rock cannot possibly support a fully enlightened Buddha at the time of his enlightenment. In consequence, the “terrace of enlightenment”, i.e. the place where he sits, etc., when becoming enlightened, must be made of the indestructible substance known a vajra. 2

27 The translation here follows S against P. “Austere and solitary” renders ekasanika, taking the word to refer to hermits who avoid society, in contrast to 76

great beings who are irreversible from the utmost, right, and perfect enlightenment; so that he may have a community of Bodhisattvas that can neither be measured nor calculated, so that the measure of his life span may be measureless, and he may achieve a measureless splendour; (h) so that, when he has known full enlightenment, in his Buddha-field there may be no occasions whatsoever for greed, hate, and delusion; (i) so that, when he has known full enlightenment, beings become endowed with such a wisdom that the Buddhas and Lords in other Buddha-fields will be moved to breathe forth this shout of triumph: “Good is quietude! Good is self-discipline! Good is self-mastery! Good is it to have observed the practice of the religious life! Good is the non-harming of all living beings!”; (k) so that, when he has passed away into Nirvana, there may be no disappearance of the true Dharma, and so that, when they merely hear his name, the beings in the world systems countless as the sands of the Ganges, in the ten directions, will become fixed on the utmost, right, and perfect enlightenment. (P35)

At the time, when a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, brings forth these virtuous qualities, the four Great Kings in the great trichiliocosm reflect as follows: “We will give the four bowls to this Bodhisattva, this great being, as the Great Kings of the past have done to the Tathagatas of the past”.228 And the Gods of the Thirty-Three are enraptured, the Yama gods, the Tushita gods, the Nirmanarata gods, and the Parinirmitavasavartin gods are delighted, and decide to arrange for service to that Bodhisattva, that great being. The hosts of the Asuras are derided, and the heavenly hosts in the great trichiliocosm wax strong and rejoice. And the higher gods decide to invite229 this one, when he has been fully enlightened, to turn the wheel of Dharma.

At the time when a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, grows in the six perfections, at that time the sons and daughters of good family who belong to the Bodhisattva vehicle become enraptured and will want to become his mother and father, his wife and sons, his kinsmen and relations. The gods, right up to the Akanishtha gods, are enraptured, (P36) because the Bodhisattva shuns sexual intercourse. From the first thought of

Bodhisattvas who live in it. Normally it is a technical term for one of the 12 “austere practices”, and refers to someone who eats his meal in one sitting. 22

8 For the story of the four bowls see my Buddhist Scriptures, 1959, pp. 52-3.

9 Or “solicit”, as in ch. 1 note 189.

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enlightenment onwards the Bodhisattva is chaste. He is not conjoined with fettering dharmas. He reflects that “one who is not chaste, who pursues sensuous pleasures, he causes an obstacle to rebirth even in the Brahma world, how much more then to supreme enlightenment”. Therefore a Bodhisattva, chaste, not unchaste, should having left his home, know full enlightenment.

Sariputra: Does then the Bodhisattvas in all circumstances have parents, wives, sons, paternal and maternal relatives?

The Lord: Some Bodhisattvas do. Some of them, from the first thought of enlightenment onwards, take chastity upon themselves, and, course in the course of a Bodhisattva always as Crown Princes until they know full enlightenment. Some Bodhisattvas taste the five sense qualities through their skill in means, and afterwards leave home and know full enlightenment. Just as a clever (P37) magician or magician’s apprentice, well trained in magical illusions, would conjure up the five sense qualities, delight in them, play with them, minister to them. What do you think, Sariputra, would that magician, or magician’s apprentice, have actually tasted and relished those five sense qualities?

Sariputra: No, O Lord!

The Lord: Just so do Bodhisattvas, through their skill in means, taste the five kinds of sense qualities, for the sake of maturing beings, but without being stained by those sense qualities. Sense desires are disparaged by the Bodhisattva with the words: “All ablaze are sense desires, disgusting, murderous, inimical!” It is in such a spirit that a Bodhisattva, for the sake of maturing beings, lays hold of the five sense qualities.

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CHAPTER 3 OBSERVATIONS

(2. Various preliminary instructions:

(a) Short outline of method of coursing in perfect wisdom.)

I 2. Instructions.

I 2,1. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE PROGRESS.230

Sariputra:231 How then should the Bodhisattva, the great being, course in perfect wisdom?

The Lord: Here232 the Bodhisattva, the great being, coursing in the perfection of wisdom, truly a Bodhisattva, does not review233 a Bodhisattva, nor the word “Bodhisattva”, nor the course of a Bodhisattva, (nor the perfection of wisdom, nor the word “perfection of wisdom”. He does not review that “he courses”, nor that “he does not course”). He does not review form, feeling, perception, formative forces, or consciousness. (P38) And why? Because the Bodhisattva, the great being, is actually empty of the

0 H comments: In progressing in the acquisition of the virtuous qualities which characterize the 22 forms of the thought of enlightenment, one must train oneself in such a way that one deviates from neither conventional nor ultimate truth, and that one employs the method of the nonapprehension of separate entities. This method, peculiar to Bodhisattvas, is not shared by the Disciples.

31 The “Instructions” are addressed to Sariputra, who was the unexcelled protagonist of Abhidharma wisdom. Highly skilled in manipulating a multiplicity of dharmas, he felt slightly out of his depth when confronted with the Prajnaparamita doctrine which admits no distinction between dharmas. Sariputra being the interlocutor here, the “Instructions” are held to be of a fairly elementary nature. 23

2 This passage, P 38-39, became for the Yogacarins the basis of their doctrine of the 10 “discrimination”, and of the 10 “antidotes” to them, which are said to be enumerated here. In my Prajnaparamita Literature, 1960, pp. 98-100 I have collected a number of different versions of this section from various recensions. The additions in brackets are from S I 118-120. 23

3 “Sees repeatedly.” Most people do not review “Bodhisattva”, etc., for they have no idea what it is. But theirs is not the supreme wisdom. The Sutra assumes that we have done a lot of “reviewing” in the Abhidharma sense, and now tells us to cease doing so. But it does not tell us to stop doing something which we have never started to do.

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own-being of a Bodhisattva, and because perfect wisdom is by its own-being empty. And why? That is its essential original nature. (For it is not through emptiness that form, etc. is empty.) Nor is emptiness other than form, etc.

And why? The very form, etc., is emptiness, the very emptiness is form, etc. And why? Because “Bodhisattva”, “perfect wisdom”, “form”, etc. are mere words. Because form, etc., are like an illusion, Illusions and mere words do not stand at any point or spot; they are not, do not come into being, are false to behold. For of what the own-being is seen to be an illusion, of that there is no production or stopping, no defilement or purification. Thus a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in the perfection of wisdom, also does not review the production (of any dharma); nor its stopping (or abiding, its decrease or decrease), defilement or purification. (He does not review form, etc., nor “enlightenment”, nor what is called an “enlightenment-being”.) And why? Because words are artificial. People have constructed a counter-dharma.234 The express it conventionally by means of an adventitious designation (which is imagined and unreal, and they settle down in that conventional expression). A Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, does not review (that which is said to correspond to) all those words, (does not get at them). Not reviewing them, (not getting at them, he does not mind them), does not settle down

Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in the perfection of wisdom, does not consider236 the fact that these are mere words, i.e. this “Bodhisattva”, this “enlightenment”, this “Buddha”, (P39) this “perfection of wisdom”, this “coursing in the perfection of wisdom”, this “form”, etc. Just as one speaks of a “self” , and yet no self is got at, and no being, soul, personality, person, individual, or man, etc., on account of unascertainable

4 prati-dharma. This means something which looks like a reality, but is in fact the very opposite of one. Words mislead, and far from expressing the reality of what they refer to, they in fact run counter. The passage may, however, be corrupt, and S as well as S-Tib. Differ.

5 This passage, P 38-39, became for the Yogacarins the basis of their doctrine of the 10 “discrimination”, and of the 10 “antidotes” to them, which are said to be enumerated here. In my Prajnaparamita Literature, 1960, pp. 98-100 I have collected a number of different versions of this section from various recensions. The additions in brackets are from S I 118-120.

6 lit. investigate. 80

emptiness.237 And why? Because there a Bodhisattva does also not review that by means of which he would settle down. Coursing thus, a Bodhisattva, a great being courses in perfect wisdom.

((b)) Superiority of Bodhisattvas over Disciples.)

If this Continent of Jambudvipa were filled with monks similar in worth to Sariputra and Maudgalyayana – like a thicket of reeds, bamboos, or sugar cane, of tall grass,238 or rice, or sesamum plants – their wisdom does not approach the wisdom of a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom by one hundredth part, nor by one thousandth part, nor by a 100,000th part; it does not bear number, nor fraction, nor counting, nor similarity, nor comparison, nor resemblance. To such an extent does the wisdom of a Bodhisattva, who, coursing in perfect wisdom, develops it for one day only, surpass the wisdom of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas. And why? Because that wisdom of a Bodhisattva, a great being is concerned with (winning) Nirvana for all beings. And that would hold true even if not only Jambudvipa, but if the great trichiliocosm, or even if all the countless world systems in each of the ten directions were filled with monks similar in worth to Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. (P40)

Sariputra: The wisdom of the Stream-winners, the wisdom of Once-Returners, Never-Returners, Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas, the wisdom of a Bodhisattva, the wisdom of a Tathagata – all these kinds of wisdom are not differentiated, they are not isolated, un-produced, without own-being and empty. But no distinction or difference can be got at of that which is not broken apart, which is isolated, un-produced, without own-being and empty. But no distinction or difference can be got at of that which is not broken apart, which is isolated, un-produced, without own-being and empty. How then does the wisdom which a Bodhisattva has developed for one day only, that wisdom of one who is coursing in perfect wisdom, surpass the wisdom of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas?

The Lord: When you consider, Sariputra, the task of a

7 no. 15 of P 197. Where there is no self, there can be no actual progress to Nirvana. To speak of “spiritual progress” usually smuggles in a “self” or a “being”, limits the field of the progress, and assumes that this person progresses, and that person does not. It is difficult to have progress without one who progresses, or to speak of “progress” when one cannot locate it anywhere.

8 lit. the Saccharum Sara reed.

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Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, for which the wisdom, developed for one day only, has been set up and furnished with the best of all modes239; the task of one who courses in all-knowledge and works for the welfare of all beings (in the sense that he has resolved that) “once having fully understood all dharmas in all their modes, one should lead all beings to Nirvana”; - is that also the task for which the wisdom of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas has been set up?

Sariputra: No indeed, O Lord.

The Lord: What do you think, Sariputra, does it occur to any of the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas that “after we have known full enlightenment, we should lead all beings to Nirvana, into the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind”?

Sariputra: No, indeed, O Lord.

The Lord: One should therefore know that this wisdom of the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas bears no comparison to the wisdom of a Bodhisattva even though developed for one day only. What do you think, Sariputra, does it occur to any of the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas that “after I have practised the six perfections, matured beings, purified the Buddha-field, perfect the ten powers of a Tathagata, his four grounds of self-confidence, the four analytical knowledges and the eighteen special dharmas of a Buddha, having known full enlightenment (P41) i shall lead countless beings to Nirvana”?

Sariputra: No, O Lord.

The Lord: But such are the intentions of a Bodhisattva. A glow-worm, being a mere insect, does not think that its light could illuminate the Continent of Jambudvipa, or shine over. Just so the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas do not think, not even one of them, that they should, after winning full enlightenment, lead all beings to Nirvana. But the sun, when it has risen, sheds its light over the whole of Jambudvipa. Just so a Bodhisattva, after he has accomplished the practices which end in full enlightenment, leads countless beings to Nirvana.

Sariputra: How does a Bodhisattva, a great being, after he has stepped above the level of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas, reach the irreversible level, and purity the path to enlightenment?

The Lord: Here a Bodhisattva, a great being steps above the

9 See note 211, chapter 2.

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level of a Disciple and Pratyekabuddha, reaches the irreversible level and purifies the path to enlightenment, because from the first thought of enlightenment onwards he courses in the six perfections, taking his stand on empty, sign-less, and wish-less dharmas.

Sariputra: On which level does a Bodhisattva, a great being, become constantly and always worthy of the donations of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas? (P42)

The Lord: He is constantly and always worthy of them during the period which begins with the first thought of enlightenment and ends with his arrival on the terrace of enlightenment, during which period a Bodhisattva, a great being courses in the six perfections. And why? Because it is thanks to the Bodhisattva, the great being, that all the wholesome dharmas are manifested in the world, i.e. the ten wholesome paths of action, the five moral rules, the eight Uposatha vows, the four trances, the four Unlimited, the four formless attainments, the five super-knowledge s, the four applications of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the cardinal virtues, the five powers, the seven limbs of enlightenment, the eightfold path; the four grounds of self-confidence, the four analytical knowledges, the six perfections, the ten powers of a Tathagata, the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas. It is a result of the manifestation of these wholesome dharmas in the world that good families are conceived, i.e. nobles, Brahmins and well-to-do householders; that the gods are conceived, from the four Great Kings to: (P43) the Gods of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception; and that Stream-winners arise in the world, etc. to: Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and Tathagatas.

Sariputra: Does then a Bodhisattva, a great being, cleanse the donations he receives, or does he not?

The Lord: He does not cleanse them, because the donations of a Bodhisattva, a great being, are just absolutely pure. And why? A donor is the Bodhisattva, the great being. Of what is he a donor? Of wholesome dharmas, i.e. of the ten wholesome paths of action to the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas.

((c)) The Yoga of Perfect Wisdom.)

I 2,2. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TRUTHS.240

0 In AA I2,2 a-c the translation follows S I 136-141, which is fuller than the corresponding text of P. 83

I 2,2a. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF ILL.241

Sariputra: How is a Bodhisattva, a great being, who is joining (exerting) himself, to be called “joined to perfect wisdom”?

The Lord: (AI) Here, Sariputra, a Bodhisattva, a great being, who is joined to the emptiness of form is to be called “joined”. And so if he is joined the emptiness of feeling, etc.; (P44) of the eye to mind, of sight-objects to mind-objects, of eye-element, sight-object-element; eye-consciousness-element, etc. to: mind-consciousness-element; of suffering, origination, stopping, path; and of ignorance, etc. to: decay and death. (II) Joined to the emptiness of all dharmas242 is he to be called “joined”. Of whichever conditioned and unconditioned dharmas he may have formed a notion, joined to the emptiness of all those dharmas is he to be called “joined”. Moreover, Sariputra, a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, should be called “joined” if he is joined to the emptiness of the essential original nature.243 It is thus, Sariputra, that the Bodhisattva, the great being who courses in perfect wisdom is, when joined to these seven244 emptinesses, to be called “joined”. It is thus, Sariputra, that he who courses in perfect wisdom by means of these seven emptinesses should, because of that, not even be called “joined” or “un-joined”. (III) And why? Because there he does not review form, etc., as “joined”, or as “un-joined”.

I 2,2b INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF ORIGINATION.245

1 The reader will do well to consult Prasannapada XII on duhka, if possible in Schayer’s translation. It is also useful to compare the exact wording of the four holy Truths, e.g. in my Buddhism, 1951, p.43.

2 no. 13 at P 197.

3 no. 12 at P 197.

4 “seven in S and S-Tib; “ten” in Gilgit P; “all” in P. The seven emptinesses are probably: 1, form, etc.; 2, eye, etc.; 3, sight-objects, etc.; 4, sight consciousness, etc.; 5, suffering, etc.; 6, ignorance, etc.; 7, all dharmas. 24

5 Here one should compare Prasannapada XIV on the impossibility of a cooperation (samsarga) between distinct entities, on the ground that they have no independent existence. Also Dharmasangiti in Si 263 sq.: “No dharma is ever produced or stopped. In actual fact the eye does not make contact with form, the ear with sounds, etc. Because there can be no union between them, and the eye cannot intimately unite with form, etc., and therefore cannot come into contact (or: collide) with it. There can be no contact (rana, also: collision, strife, contamination!) with a dharma which is single, and has no second. All dharmas, in fact, are single, they do not cognize or discern one another, they cannot construed or deconstructed, do not combine or dissolve, cannot grow or diminish.”

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(B1) He does not (P45) review form, etc., as either subject to production, or as subject to stopping. (II) He does not review form, etc., as either subject to defilement, or as subject to purification. (III) He does not review form as connecting with feeling; feeling as connecting with; feeling as connecting with perception; perception as connecting with feeling; perception as connecting with impulses; impulses as connecting with perception; impulses as connecting with consciousness; consciousness as connecting with impulses. And why? Because no dharma connects with any other dharma, nor does it disconnect; it is not joined nor disjoined – on account of the emptiness of their essential original nature.246 (IV) That which is emptiness, that is not form, etc. (V) Because the emptiness of form does not molest,247 the emptiness of feeling does not feel, the emptiness of perception does not perceive, the emptiness of impulses does not put together, the emptiness of consciousness is not aware. (P46) (VI) And why? Form is not one thing, and emptiness another; emptiness is not one thing, and form another. The very form is emptiness, the very emptiness is form. And so for feeling, etc.

I 2,2c. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF STOPPING.

(C1) And that emptiness, that is neither produced nor stopped, it is neither defiled nor purified, does not decrease or increase; and that which is neither produced nor stopped, neither defiled nor purified, neither decreased nor increased, that is not past, future, or present. (II) There is no form in it, no feeling, etc.; no eye, etc. to : no mind; no form, etc. to : no mind-objects; no eye-element, etc. to : no mind-consciousness-element; no ignorance, no stopping ignorance, etc. to : (P47) no decay and death, no stopping of decay and death; no suffering and no comprehension of suffering; no origination and no forsaking of origination; no stopping and no realization of stopping; no path and no development of the path; no attainment, and no reunion; no Stream-winner, and no fruit of a Stream-winner; etc. to : no Bodhisattva, and no knowledge of the modes of the path; no

6 S-Tib. Seems to understand this sentence quite differently.

7 This is a play on words: rupam (form) rupayati (molests). On the face of it that seems to mean that “form has no figure” (cf. P Dc s.v.), but S-Tib. has thogs-par byed-pa, “strike, run against, impede”. In A.K. I 24,45 rupam is derived from rupayate, “breaks up” (rumpere), “changes in form” , “is brittle”, and that is the meaning of rupana (‘jig-pa) at P 197.

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Buddha, and no enlightenment. (III) It is in this sense, Sariputra, that a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, is to be called “joined”.

I 2,2d. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF THE PATH.248

(D1) One who courses in perfect wisdom does not review himself as “joined” to the perfection of giving, nor as “not joined” to it. And so with the other perfections, with form (P48), etc., to: the cognition of the All-knowing. Also by this method should it be known that a Bodhisattva, a great being, who has been thus joined to perfect wisdom, is to be called “joined”. (II) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, does not join emptiness with emptiness, nor is emptiness a matter for joined; he does not join the sign-less with the sign-less, nor is the sign-less a matter for joining; he does not join the wish-less with the wish-less, nor is the wish-less a matter for joining. And why? Because emptiness is not a matter for joining, or disjoining. When he thus joins himself a Bodhisattva, a great being, is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom”. (III) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, plunges into the own-mark emptiness of dharmas. But when he does so, he does not join with form, etc., nor disjoins (himself) from it. He does not join with form, etc. at the beginning, or at the end, or in the present. He truly does not review the beginning, end, or present. When he thus joins himself, a Bodhisattva, a great being, is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom”. (P49) (IV) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, does not join the beginning with the end, nor the end with the beginning, nor the present with the beginning or end, nor the end with the beginning or present, nor the beginning with the end or the present. And that is on account of the emptiness of the (three) periods of time. When he thus joins himself, a Bodhisattva, a great being, is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom”.

8 Obermiller well sums up I2, 2d after H: A Bodhisattva cannot be really endowed with the six perfections, nor can he be devoid of them. The emptiness of internal constituents, to the emptiness of his external environment, which constitutes the sphere of his actions; at the same time such a relation cannot be entirely absent, because otherwise there could be no skill in means and no spiritual progress. - It is noteworthy that the eight steps of the “holy Path”, i.e. right views, etc., are nowhere even alluded to.

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I 2,3. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE THREE TREASURES.

I 2,3a. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TREASURE OF THE BUDDHA.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, is “bound” thereby to join himself thus that he does not join the knowledge of all modes to the past, the future, or the present. He just does not review the past, future, or present; how can he join the knowledge of all modes to them? When he thus joins himself, a Bodhisattva is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom:. (P50) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, does not join form, or any other dharma, to the knowledge of all modes. Form, or any other dharma, he just does not review. When he thus joins himself, a Bodhisattva is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom”. Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom does not join the perfection of giving, or any other wholesome,249 to the knowledge of all modes. The very perfection of giving, or any other wholesome dharma, he does not review. When he thus joins himself, a Bodhisattva is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom”. (P51) Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being does not join the Buddha to the knowledge of all modes; the very Buddha he does not review; nor does he join the knowledge of all modes to the Buddha; the very knowledge of all modes he does not review. He does not join enlightenment to the knowledge of all modes; the very enlightenment he does not review. Nor does he join the knowledge of all modes to enlightenment; the very knowledge of all modes he does not review. And why? The very Buddha is the knowledge of all modes, the very knowledge of all modes is the Buddha. The very enlightenment is the knowledge of all modes, the very knowledge of all modes is enlightenment. When he thus joins himself a Bodhisattva is to be called “joined, joined to perfect wisdom”.

I 2,3b. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TREASURE OF THE DHARMA.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, does not join up with the conviction that “form is a positive existent”, or that “form is not a positive existent”; that “form is permanent or impermanent”; that “form is ease of suffering”; (P52) that “form is the self, or not the self”; that “form is calm or un-calm”.

9 The usual list up to the Buddha-dharmas.

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And so for the other skandhas. He does not join up with the conviction that “form is empty or not empty”, that “form is with sign, or sign-less”, that “form is with wish, or wish-less”. And so for the other skandhas. One who courses thus does not approach the ideas that “he courses”, “he does not course”, “he both courses and does not course”, “he neither courses nor does he not course”. A bodhisattva, a great, who courses thus, is to be called “joined to perfect wisdom”. (P53)

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not course in perfect wisdom for the sake of the perfection of giving, or any other perfection, nor for the sake of the irreversible stage, nor for the purpose of maturing beings or of purifying the Buddha-field, nor for the sake of the ten powers of a Tathagata, etc., to : the Buddha-dharmas; nor for the sake of the emptiness of the subject, et .; nor for the sake of Suchness, of the realm of Dharma, of the reality limit, etc. And why? Because a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not review the differentiation of any dharma whatsoever. A Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses thus, is to be called “joined to perfect wisdom”. He does not course in perfect wisdom for the sake of the heavenly eye, or the heavenly ear, or the cognition of others’ thoughts, or the recollection of former lives. Or for the sake of wonderworking powers. And why? Because there one who courses in perfect wisdom (P54) does not even review the perfection of wisdom; how then (could he review) a Bodhisattva, or how could apprehend all the super-knowledge s in all their modes? It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, is to be called “joined”.

Moreover, it does not occur to a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, that “I know with the heavenly eye the decease and rebirth of beings in world systems as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in each one of the ten directions; with the heavenly ear I hear their sounds; I know their very thoughts; having also recollected their former lives, and having travelled (to them) with the help of my wonder-working powers, I will demonstrate Dharma (to them)” (P55). It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom and leads countless beings to Nirvana, is to be called “joined”.

In this way Mara, the Evil One, does not get a chance to harm the Bodhisattva, the great being who courses in perfect wisdom. And all the other worldly defilements he may still have will burst

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asunder. And this Bodhisattva will be protected by the Buddhas, the Lords who, in all the ten directions, stand, hold, and maintain themselves in world systems as numerous as the sands of the river Ganges, and demonstrate Dharma; and also by their Disciples, and also by Pratyekabuddhas, and by the gods, from the Four Great Kings to the Highest Gods. And they will see to it that that Bodhisattva will meet with no impediments at all. If he has any physical defect it will completely cease in this very life. And why? Because he radiates friendliness over all beings. (P56)

Moreover, a Bodhisattva a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, comes with little trouble face to face with the Dharani-doors and the concentration-doors. Wherever he is reborn, he pleases the Tathagatas and is not deprived anywhere of the Buddhas, the Lords, until he has known full enlightenment. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, is to be called “joined”.

Moreover, it does not occur to a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom that “there is some dharma which is conjoined with or disjoined from (other) dharmas”. Nor does he wish that “he might more quickly fully know the Realm of Dharma, or not fully know it at all”. (P57) And why? Because the Realm of Dharma is not fully known by means of the Realm of Dharma. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, is to be called “joined”. Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in perfect wisdom, does not review anything as separate from the Realm of Dharma, or distinguish any dharma from the Realm of Dharma. It also does not occur to him that “this Realm of Dharma has been penetrated”,250 or “this Realm of Dharma has not been penetrated”. For he does not review any dharma by means of which he could penetrate to that Realm of Dharma. Because he does not join up the Realm of Dharma with the idea that it is empty, or with the idea that it is not empty. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, is to be called “joined”.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva, a great being, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not join up the eye-element, or any of the 18

0 “Realm of Dharma”, dharmadhatu, “element of Dharma” is a Mahayana word for the Absolute. To “penetrate” to it means that the thick membrane of ignorance must first be pierced. In order to see the Dharmadhatu one must have the equivalent of an operation for cataract of the eyes.

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elements (P58), or any of the 18 elements.251 And why? This is the foremost “undertaking” of the Bodhisattva, i.e. the endeavour about emptiness. When he courses in emptiness, a Bodhisattva does not fall on the level of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha, but purifies the Buddha-field, matures beings, and quickly knows full enlightenment. Among the “endeavours” of a Bodhisattva the “endeavour” about the perfection of wisdom is declared to be the highest, the best, the choicest, the most excellent, the utmost, the unsurpassed, the peerless, the unequalled, the most sublime. And why? There is nothing above (P59) the “endeavour”, i.e. above the “endeavour” about perfect wisdom, about emptiness, the sign-less, the wish-less. A Bodhisattva who is “endeavouring” (joining himself) thus, should be borne in mind as predicted (to Buddha-hood), as one who has come near the prediction. He will work the welfare of countless beings, but it will not occur to him that “the Buddhas, the Lords will predict me; I have come near the prediction; I will purify the Buddha-field; I will mature beings; I will, after I have known full enlightenment, turn the wheel of Dharma”. And why? Because he does not set apart the Realm of Dharma, nor does he review any dharma as other than the Realm of Dharma, e.g., him who would course in perfect wisdom, or who would be predicted by the Buddhas, the Lords, to full enlightenment. And why? Because no perception of a being is produced in a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses perfect wisdom. And why? Because absolutely no being is produced or stopped, since a being has the nature of non-production and of non-stopping. And that of which there is neither production nor stopping how will that course in perfect wisdom? Thus coursing, a Bodhisattva courses in perfect wisdom through the fact of the non-production of a being, of the emptiness of a being, of the inaccessibility of a being, of the isolated-ness of a being. It is thus that one abides in the foremost “endeavour” of the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, i.e. in the “discipline” in emptiness, which has surpassed all other “disciplines”. (P60) For a Bodhisattva, a great being who courses in this “discipline”, aspires to the great friendliness, and he does not produce a thought of meanness, or of immorality, ill will, sloth, distraught-ness, or stupidity.

1 One cannot join any of the 18 elements to emptiness because one has not got the eye-element here and emptiness there. In fact, the eye-element is indissolubly identical with emptiness.

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((d)) The Varieties of Bodhisattvas

I. According to the Circumstances of their Rebirth.)252

2 The classification of the Saints given here presents many difficulties. It is not at all easy to grasp the scheme of AA, which is taken straight from A.K. VI pp. 193-240. In addition its relation to the text of the Sutra is sometimes rather obscure. The reader will also do well to refresh his memory of the stages of the Path, as well as of the 28 classes of gods (see the Numerical Lists), for, as he will see, a Bodhisattva, once he has reached a certain stage of perfection, ceases to live on earth and dwells for long periods among the devas.

A few remarks are necessary on the method of classification adopted here. The scheme concerns “all the holy irreversible Bodhisattvas (see I2, 3c, c) who are still in training” (H), but the Mahayanistic Arhat is omitted from the list, because he belongs to the Treasure of the Buddha (I2, 3a). The 20 types are subdivisions of the traditionally well-known “holy persons”. The text of P gives 24 headings, of which A, B, C and D represent four of these “holy persons”, i.e. I, IV, VI, and VII. In the Numerical Lists I have tried to clarify the situation by a diagram. Some light is also thrown on the subject by the comments of AAA (35-36, Ob. 51-56), which I reproduce here in a none too elegant English translation:

“The following varieties of the Congregation of the Bodhisattvas are here considered:

I. The Candidate for the first Fruit. He has realized the first 15 moments of the Path of Vision, and may be either 1, a Faith-follower, if of feeble intellectual faculties, or 2, a Dharma-follower, if of acute intellectual faculties and capable of an intuition of the Truth.

II. The Stream-winner, who through the 16th thought moment on the Path of Vision has turned away from the passion that is peculiar to the world of sense desire.

III. The Candidate for the Second Fruit, who has attained this state through the removal of five varieties of defilement peculiar to the world of sense desire. Depending on whether his intellectual faculties are more dull or more acute, he may be 3, one who attains the fruit by faith, or 4, one who attain it by correct views. Another variety of the same are the saints who, abiding on the Path of Development, have removed the defiling forces up to the 4th degree. Owing to this they secure a succession of rebirths in either a 6, godly or 5, human form.

IV. The Once-Returner has forsaken 6 forms of defilement peculiar to the world of sense-desire. One variety of IV is 7, the saint with one single interval, for whom one single birth among the gods is to be undergone before he attain Arhat-ship.

V. The Candidate for the third Fruit has removed 7 or 8 forms of defilement belonging to the world of sense-desire. He may attain this position either by faith or by correct views, as at I and III.

VI. The Never-Returner has removed all 9 forms of defilement belonging to the world of sense-desire. He can be of five kinds, as follows: (A) 8. The saint who attains Nirvana in an intermediary state of existence, between the world of sense desire and that of pure form. He has forsaken the fetters which bind him to a future rebirth in the world of form, but not those which lead to his reproduction in the existence intermediary between this sphere and that of sense-desire. Whilst he is reproducing himself there, he comes face to face with the Path and thereby reaches the end of ill. (B) 9. The saint who attain Nirvana as soon as he has been reborn, and since he has not forsaken either of these two kinds of fetters, reaches

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I 2,3c. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TREASURE OF THE SAMGHA.

I 2,3c. A. THE EIGHTH LOWEST BODHISATTVA. (= CANDIDATE FOR STREAMWINNERSHIP)

Sariputra: The Bodhisattva, the great being who dwells in this dwelling of perfect wisdom, deceased where, is he reborn here, or deceased here where will he be reborn?

The Lord: The Bodhisattva, the great being who dwells in this dwelling of perfect wisdom, deceased in this world, he is reborn here in this very Buddha-field, or, deceased in other Buddha-fields, or among the Tushita Gods, he is reborn here.

I 2,3c,1. THE BODHISATTVA AS FAITH-FOLLOWER.

Among these a Bodhisattva, the great being who, deceased among men, is reborn among them, has dull253 faculties – except when he is irreversible – he does not immediately make “endeavours” about perfect wisdom, and does not come face to face with the Dharani-doors or the concentration-doors. If again, Sariputra, you say, “the Bodhisattva, the great being who makes this ‘endeavour’ about perfect wisdom, when he is deceased here,

the end of Ill after having been reborn in the sphere of pure form. (C) 10. the saint who, born in the world of pure form, wins Nirvana with great effort, and (D) 11. the reverse of him, the saint who wins it without effort. (E) The fifth variety of Never-returners are those who rise up to the highest regions of the phenomenal world to attain Nirvana there. They again are of two kinds: (x) 12. the saint who has gone up to the Akanishta gods to win Nirvana there, and (xx) 16. the saint who has gone up to the highest sphere of phenomenal existence. (Ex) No. 12 is of three kinds: (Ex 1) 13. The one who moves along by leaps, who from the lowest heaven of the world of pure form jumps straight to the highest, i.e. to the Akanishta heavens: (Ex 2) 14. the “Half-precipitant”, who from the Brahmic worlds rises higher up, living among the Gods of the Pure Abode. Having passed through some of the intermediate worlds, he finally enters the Akanishta heaven in two leaps. (Ex 3) 15. the saint who, having deceased in all stations on his way through the heavens of pure form up to the Akanishta heaven, has lived on each of these stations and deceased in each one of them. E xx) No. 16, who 17, is devoid of greed for the world of pure form, is of two kinds, i.e. 18. the saint who has won peace in this very life, and wins Nirvana in the highest of the immaterial spheres, and 19. the saint who has witnessed cessation with his body.

VII. The Candidate for Arhat-ship has removed 8 of the forms of defilement peculiar to the culminating point of phenomenal existence and applies his energy to the removal of the 9th form.

The Arhat – 20. The Pratyekabuddha who acts on the basis of the Disciple Code, and comes face to face with his own Path at the time when no Buddha arises in the world”.

3 or: slow, weak, sluggish.

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where will he be reborn?” When he is deceased in this Buddha-field here (P61), he will then pass on from Buddha-field to Buddha-field. In each Buddha-field he will please the Buddhas, the Lords, and nowhere will he be without them.

I 2,3c,2. THE BODHISATTVA AS DHARMA-FOLLOWER.

Moreover another Bodhisattva, one who is deceased in other Buddha-fields and reborn here, has keen faculties. He quickly makes this “endeavour” about perfect wisdom. When he has passed through this present birth, he will still remain face to face with these very deep dharmas and will continue to make endeavours about perfect wisdom. In whichever Buddha-field he may be reborn, there he will please the Tathagatas. Moreover, the Bodhisattva, who, deceased among the Tushita gods, is reborn here, also has sharper faculties, and comes face to face with the six perfections of which he never loses sight, and with all the Dharani-doors and concentration-doors.

I 2,3c,3. THE CANDIDATE TO THE SECOND AND THIRD FRUIT WHO IS INTENT ON FAITH.

There are Bodhisattvas who course in perfect wisdom, working and exerting themselves in order to mature beings, and who through the power of skill in means realize the fruit of a Stream-winner. And yet they do not fancy themselves for being Stream-winners.

There are Bodhisattvas who without being skilful in means, accomplish the four trances and course in the perfections. Through their acquisitions of trance they are reborn among the Long-lived gods. If, after they have deceased there, they are reborn among men or gods, they will please the Buddhas, the Lords. (P62) Their faculties also will be dull and not keen.

There are Bodhisattvas who both enter into the trances and course in perfect wisdom. But, owing to their lack of skill in means, they, having abandoned the trances, are reborn in the world of sense desire. Their faculties also are dull and not keen.

I 2,3c,4. THE CANDIDATE TO THE SECOND AND THIRD FRUIT WHO HAS ATTAINED CORRECT VIEWS.

There are Bodhisattvas who, after they have produced the four trances enter into the four Unlimited, the four formless attainments, 93

the applications of mindfulness, the right efforts, the bases of psychic power, the (five) dominants, the (five) powers, the (seven) limbs of enlightenment, the Paths. Greatly compassionate, they are reborn through skill in means, and not through the influence of the trances, Unlimited, or formless attainments. And they are reborn where they can please the Tathagatas. Since they do not lack dwelling in the perfection of wisdom, they will know full enlightenment in this very Bhadrakalpa.

I 2,3c,B. THE ONCE-RETURNER.

There are Bodhisattvas, bound to one more birth who, coursing in perfect wisdom with skill in means, enter into and develop the four trances, the four Unlimited, the four formless attainments, the applications of mindfulness, right efforts, bases of psychic power, the dominants, powers, limbs of enlightenment and Paths. They enter into the concentration on Emptiness, on the Sign-less, on the Wish-less (P63). But it is not through the influence of the trances, etc. that they are reborn. When they have, face to face, pleased the Buddhas, the Lords, and (for a long time) have led a holy life under them, they are again reborn among the Tushita gods, where they remain until the end of their lifespan. Thereafter, with non-defective sense-organs, mindful and self-possessed, surrounded and accompanied by hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of gods, having here254 exhibited a rebirth, they know full enlightenment in various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,C. THE NEVER-RETURNER.

There are Bodhisattvas who are recipients of the six super-knowledges, and who are not reborn in the world of sense desire, or the world of form, or the formless world; but they pass on from Buddha-field to Buddha-field, honouring, respecting, revering and worshipping the Tathagatas.

There are Bodhisattvas, recipients of the six super-knowledges, who, playing with these super-knowledgs, pass on from Buddha-field to Buddha-field; in those Buddha-fields one has not even a conception of the vehicle of the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas, and in them the lifespan (of beings) is measureless. (P64)

There are Bodhisattvas, recipients of the six super-knowledges,

4 among the gods, or in this world of ours? ici-bas (Lamotte)

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who pass on from world system to world system. They go to where the message of Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha is unknown and abiding there they make beings hear the message of Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha, speaking in praise of the Triple Jewel. As a result of this message of Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha, those beings when they heave deceased from there, are reborn where there are Buddhas and Lords.

I 2,3c,5. THOSE WHO ARE REBORN SUCCESSIBELY IN THE FAMILIES OF MEN.

There are Bodhisattvas who, having produced the four trances, enter into the four holy Unlimited, and the four formless attainments. And yet, endowed with skill in means, having turned away from (the reward which follows the) concentrations and attainments, they are reborn in the world of sense desire, are reborn in good families, i.e. among nobles, Brahmins and well-to-do householders, for the sake of maturing beings.

I 2,3c,6. THOSE WHO ARE REBORN SUCCESSIVELY IN THE FAMILIES OF GODS.

There are Bodhisattvas who enter into the four trances, the four Unlimited, and the four formless attainments. Through the power of their skill in means, and not through the influence of the trances, the Unlimited or the attainments, they are reborn among the Gods of the Plane of Sense Desire (P65). Abiding among them, they mature beings, purify the Buddha-fields, and please the Buddhas, the Lords.

There are Bodhisattvas who, deceased among those gods, are, through their skill in means, reborn in the Brahma-world, up to the Highest Gods. Therein they become Brahma gods or Mahabrahma gods. They abide in those realms of Brahma, and then pass on from Buddha-field to Buddha-field, and entreat the Tathagatas who are in those Buddha-fields to turn the wheel of Dharma.

I 2,3c,7. THOSE WITH ON SINGLE INTERVAL (OF REBIRTH AMONG THE GODS).

There are Bodhisattvas who are recipients of the four trances, etc. to: of the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas, and who course in compliance with them. They are recipients of the four Holy Truths and yet they do not penetrate them. And these Bodhisattvas should be known as bound to one more birth.

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I 2,3c,8. THOSE WHO ATTAIN NIRVANA IN AN INTERMEDIATE STATE.

There are Bodhisattvas who from the production of the first thought of enlightenment onwards become recipients of the four trances, the four Unlimited, and the four formless attainments. They develop the applications of mindfulness, the right efforts, the bases of psychic power, the dominants, the powers, the limbs of enlightenment, and the Paths. They acquire the (ten) powers (of a Tathagata), the grounds of self-confidence, the analytical knowledges and the (18) special Buddha-dharmas. (P66) Through skill in means they are reborn among the gods of Brahma’s group, etc. up to : the Highest Gods. When they have known full enlightenment, they work for the weal of beings.

I 2,3c,9. THOSE WHO ATTAIN NIRVANA AS SOON AS THEY HAVE BEEN REBORN (IN THE SPHERE OF PURE FORM).

There are Bodhisattvas who, simply through the production of the first thought of enlightenment, fully know full enlightenment, turn the wheel of Dharma, and, having worked the weal of countless beings, enter into the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind. Their good Dharma abides for an aeon or more, after their attainment of final Nirvana.

I 2,3c,10. THOSE WHO ATTAIN WITH GREAT EFFORT.

There are Bodhisattvas who, coursing in the six perfections, pass on from world system to world system and there establish beings in enlightenment. Always energetic they never, for the sake of beings, speak an unprofitable word. Always energetic for the sake of beings, they pass on from one Buddha-field to another. Also those Bodhisattvas know full enlightenment in various Buddha-fields, during incalculable, immeasurable aeons, for the sake of beings.

I 2,3c,11. THOSE WHO ATTAIN WITHOUT EFFORT.

There are Bodhisattvas who, simply through the first production of the thought of enlightenment, enter into the fixed condition of a bodhisattva, or abide on the irreversible state, or procure all the Buddha-dharmas. (P67)

There are Bodhisattvas, who, from the production of the first thought of enlightenment onwards, make endeavours about perfect wisdom. Together with hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis 96

of Bodhisattvas they pass from one Buddha-field to another, always purifying their own Buddha-field; and in various Buddha-fields they know full enlightenment.

I 2,3c,12. THOSE WHO HAVE GONE TO THE HIGHEST GODS TO WIN NIRVANA THERE.

There are Bodhisattvas who, coursing in the six perfections, have become Universal Monarchs. Having taken the perfection of giving for their guide they will provide all beings with everything that brings ease – food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty. They will provide perfumes, garlands, ointments, medicinal powders, incense, beds, seats, asylum, homes, money, grain, jewels, pearls, gold, silver, coral, ornaments, and the means of life – until, having established beings in the ten ways of wholesome action, they are reborn among the gods of Brahma’s group, etc. to: up to the Highest Gods, and know full enlightenment in the various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,13. THOSE WHO MOVE ALONG BY LEAPS.

There are Bodhisattvas who, having accomplished the four trances, are, when the trances have faded away, in consequence of the first trance reborn among the gods of Brahma’s group. Having again accomplished the trances, having been reborn among the Highest Gods, they know full enlightenment in the various Buddha-fields. (P68)

I 2,3c,14. THE HALF-PRECIPIENT.

There are Bodhisattvas who, deceased from the Brahma-world, are reborn among the Gods of the Pure “Abode. Having jumped over one or two classes of the Gods of the Pure Abode, they are reborn among the Highest Gods, and then know full enlightenment in the various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,15. THOSE WHO, ON THEIR WAY THROUGH THE HEAVENS OF FORM, HAVE DECEASED IN ALL STATIONS.

There are Bodhisattvas who have conjured up a body like that of a Tathagata, purified the Tushita-realm, been reborn among the gods of Brahma’s group, etc. up to: the Highest Gods, and who, through their skill in means, demonstrate Dharma to beings in the hells, in the animal world, and in the world of Yama.

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There are Bodhisattvas who have stood in the six perfections, conjured up a body such as that of a Tathagata, visited countless Buddha-fields and world-systems in all the ten directions, in each single direction, and there demonstrate Dharma to beings, honour the Tathagatas, perfect the Buddha-fields, and hear the Dharma. Having created for those Buddha-fields illusory magical creations,255 they perfect the best, the most distinguished, the utmost Buddha-fields. (P69) And, bound to one more birth, these Bodhisattvas, reborn in those Buddha-fields, know full enlightenment in the various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,16. THOSE WHO HAVE GONE UP TO THE HIGHEST SPHERE OF PHENOMENAL EXISTENCE.

There are Bodhisattvas who, in consequence of the trances and formless attainments, are reborn among the gods of Brahma’s group, etc. up to: the Subhakritsna Gods. Thereafter they are reborn in the station of endless space, etc. up to: in the summit of existence. Then they are reborn in various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,17. THOSE WHO HAVE FORSAKEN THE GREED FOR THE WORLD OF FORM.

There are Bodhisattvas, recipients of the trances and formless attainments, who are reborn in the station of endless space, etc. to: in the summit of existence. Then they are reborn in the various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,18. THOSE WHO ATTAIN NIRVANA IN THIS VERY LIFE.

There are Bodhisattvas who, coursing in the six perfections, their bodies adorned with the 32 marks of the Superman, become endowed with the most excellent perfectly pure organs, and who therefore become dear and pleasant to the many-folk. And the beings who see those Bodhisattvas, do, through just that serene faith in their hearts gradually attain full Nirvana through the three vehicles. It is thus that a Bodhisattva should train himself in the perfect purity of body, speech and mind.

There are Bodhisattvas who, from the first production of the thought of enlightenment onwards, have stood in the six perfections and are never reborn anywhere in the states of woe

5 The text is here corrupt. S i 277 and P-Tib. Differ. Tib., like one of Dutt’s MSS, read “signs” instead of “illusory magical creations”.

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even before they have reached the irreversible stage.

There are Bodhisattvas who, from the first production of the thought of enlightenment onwards, never abandon the ten ways of wholesome action until they have reached the irreversible stage.

There are Bodhisattvas who, after they have stood in the perfection of giving, have become Universal Monarchs and, having given gifts to beings, establish them in the 10 ways of wholesome action.

There are Bodhisattvas who, having stood in the perfection of giving, etc., gain many hundreds, many hundreds of thousands of world-wide kingdoms. Having stood therein, they please hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of Buddhas, honour, respect, revere and worship those Buddhas and Lords, and thereafter win full enlightenment.

I 2,3c,19. THOSE WHO HAVE WITNESSED (CESSATION) WITH THEIR BODY.

There are Bodhisattvas who, coursing in perfect wisdom, recipients of the four trances and the four formless attainments, enter, playing with them, into the first trance. Emerged therefrom, they enter into the attainment of (the trance of) Cessation. And so with the second trance, etc. to: the fourth formless attainment. (P71) It is thus that these Bodhisattvas, coursing in perfect wisdom, endowed with skill in means, having entered on the concentration which jumps at will from one station to any other,256 know full enlightenment in the various Buddha-fields.

I 2,3c,20. THE PRATYEKABUDDHA.

There are Bodhisattvas who, in Buddha-less world-systems where there are no Disciples, fully know the Pratyekabuddha-enlightenment. Having matured, through skill in means many hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of living beings in the three vehicles, they know full enlightenment.

I 2,3c,a. THE FRUITS WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED ON THE PATH OF THE DISCIPLE AND PRATYEKABUDDHA.

There are Bodhisattvas who are recipients of the applications of mindfulness, the right efforts, the bases of psychic power, the dominants, the powers, the limbs of enlightenment and the Path, recipients of the ten powers, the grounds of self-confidence, the

6 This concentration is described in detail at AA V 24-25, and in Ad ch. 62.

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analytical knowledges, and the 18 special Buddha-dharmas, but they do not attain the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: (P72) the fruit of an Arhat, or Pratyekabuddha-hood. Coursing in perfect wisdom they show, through their skill in means the eightfold path to all beings, and thereby make them attain the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: Pratyekabuddha-enlightenment. They themselves do not realize (these), but they establish others in them.

I 2,3c,b. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OTHERS IN THE DHARMA ONE DOES NOT ONESELF OBTAIN.

The Bodhisattva, the great being patiently accepts the cognition which leads to the attainment of the fruit of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas.257

I 2,3c,c. ELUCIDATION OF THE COMMUNITY OF IRREVERSIBLE BODHISATTVAS.

Those Bodhisattvas who dwell in this perfection of wisdom should be known as irreversible.

There are Bodhisattvas who, having stood in the six perfections, purify the Tushita-realm. These Bodhisattvas should surely be known as living in the “Auspicious Aeon”. Those, Sariputra, are irreversible Bodhisattvas who thus rise up to the Buddha-dharmas.

(II. According to their practices. 1. Perfect Purity.)

Therefore then, Sariputra, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom, should give no occasion for faulty deeds of body, speech or mind, and he should train in view of the perfect purity of the deeds of body, speech and mind. (P73)

I 2,4. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT NONATTACHMENT.

Sariputra: What is a faulty deed of body, speech, and mind?

The Lord: Here it occurs to a Bodhisattva to ask “what is the body by which deeds of the body could be undertaken, what the voice by which deeds of speech could be undertaken, what the mind by which deeds of mind could be undertaken?” Thus investigating, he gets at body, speech, and mind. For a Bodhisattva such an undertaking of deeds of body, speech, and mind is faulty. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect

7 So S i 274. P I do not understand, and P-Tib. Differs from it. There is a parallel in Ad ch. 69, f. 261a (see my Rome edition).

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wisdom does not get at258 such a kind of body, speech or mind, by which he would produce a thought of meanness, immorality, ill will, sloth, distraction, or stupidity. It is impossible, it cannot be, that a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom, could produce wickedness259 of body, speech, or mind. That is quite impossible. And why? Because a Bodhisattva, who courses in the six perfections, cleanses away the wickedness of body, speech, and mind.

Sariputra: How then does he cleanse away that wickedness?

The Lord: When he does not get at body, speech, or mind. (P74) If, moreover, a Bodhisattva, account of the first thought of enlightenment, complies with the ten ways of wholesome action, produces no Disciple-thought or Pratyekabuddha-thought, but constantly and always sets up a thought a great compassion for all beings, it is then that I say that a Bodhisattva’s wickedness of body, speech, and mind is perfectly purified. There are Bodhisattvas, great beings, who, coursing in perfect wisdom, and purifying the path to enlightenment, course in the perfection of giving, etc. to: in the perfection of wisdom.

Sariputra: What is a Bodhisattva’s path to enlightenment?

The Lord: When a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not get at body, speech, or mind, at any of the six perfection, at the idea of Disciple, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, or Buddha, then that is a Bodhisattva’s path to enlightenment, i.e. the non-apprehension of all dharmas. The Bodhisattva who walks by that path and courses in the six perfections, cannot possibly be crushed.260

I 2,5. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT PERSISTENT INDEFATIGABILITY.

(2. All-knowledge.)

Sariputra: Coursing how do Bodhisattvas become un-crushable?

The Lord: When a Bodhisattva, who courses in the six perfections, does not put his mind to form (P75), etc. to: to the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment, it is then that he grows in the six perfections and that he cannot be crushed by anything.

8 or: does not take notice of, does not apprehend. 1, they do not, objectively speaking, exist; 2. they are completely unimportant in any case.

9 daushtulya, may either mean “depravity” in a general sense; or, more specifically, lewdness, or luxurious living (H).

0 for the simple reason that is not there, and no one can find him.

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There are Bodhisattvas, great beings, who, having stood imperfect wisdom, fulfil all-knowledge. Al doors to the places of woe are closed to those who are endowed with that knowledge, they do not, among men, experience the misfortunes of poverty261 (P76) and they do not take hold of such a personality by which they would become blameworthy in the world with its gods.

I 2,6. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE FULL ACCEPTANCE262 OF THE MAHAYANISTIC PATH.

(3. Cognition of the all-knowing.)

Sariputra: What is, on the part of a Bodhisattva, the cognition of the all-knowing?

The Lord: Endowed with that cognition a Bodhisattva sees, in each of the ten directions, Tathagatas as many as the sands of the river Ganges, hears their demonstration of Dharma, honours their Community, and sees the purity of their Buddha-fields. But Bodhisattvas who are endowed with that cognition have no notion of a Buddha, or of enlightenment, or of Disciples or Pratyekabuddhas, or of self or other, or of a Buddha-field. A Bodhisattva who is endowed with that cognition courses in each one of the six perfections, but he does not get at any of them. He develops the applications of mindfulness, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas, but he does not get at any of them. Endowed with this cognition a Bodhisattva fulfils all Buddha-dharmas, but he does not put his mind to any of them. (P77)

I 2,7. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE FIVE ORGANS OF VISION.

(4. The five Eyes.)

There are Bodhisattvas who acquire and cleanse the Five Eyes. Which five? The fleshly eye, the heavenly eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma-eye, the Buddha-eye.

Sariputra: What is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Fleshly Eye?

The Lord: There is the fleshly eye of a Bodhisattva which sees for a hundred miles, for two hundred miles, across Jambudvipa, a four continent world-system, a world-system consisting of 1,000

1 Bodhisattvas are usually reborn in well-to-do families. Poverty is a punishment for meanness, or lack of generosity, in a past life. Wealth is a reward for generosity, but unless wisely used it may undo much of the good accumulated in past lives. The Scriptures often refer to practitioners of the Dharma as “sons and daughters of good family”.

2 or: indispensable factors for mastering. 102

worlds, a world-system consisting of 1,000,000 worlds, a world-system consisting of 1,000,000,000 worlds. This is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Fleshly Eye.

Sariputra: What is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Heavenly Eye?

The Lord: A Bodhisattva wisely knows263 the Heavenly Eye of the gods, beginning with the Four Great Kings; (P78) but the gods do not wisely know a Bodhisattva’s Heavenly Eye. With his perfectly pure Heavenly Eye he wisely knows, as it really is, the decease and rebirth of all beings in the world systems numerous as the sands of the river Ganges, in each of the ten directions. This is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Heavenly Eye.

Sariputra: What is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Wisdom Eye?264

The Lord: A Bodhisattva who is endowed with that Wisdom Eye does not wisely know any dharma – be it conditioned or unconditioned, wholesome or unwholesome, faulty or faultless, with or without outflows, defiled or undefiled, worldly or supramundane.265 With that Wisdom Eye he does not see any dharma, or hear, know, or discern one.266 This is the perfectly pure Wisdom Eye of a Bodhisattva. (P79)

Sariputra: What is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Dharma-Eye?267

The Lord: Here a Bodhisattva knows, by means of the Dharma-Eye, that “this person is a Faith-follower, that person a Dharma-follower. This person a dweller in Emptiness, that person a dweller in the sign-less, that person a dweller in the Wish-less. The five cardinal virtues will arise in this person by means of the emptiness-door to deliverance, in that person by means of the sign-less door to deliverance, in that person by means of the wish-less door to deliverance. By means of the five cardinal

3 = knows by virtue of his wisdom.

4 Acc. To Mpp-s 439, the wisdom eye knows the true mark (satyakalshana) of all dharmas. 26

5 Then follow two words I have omitted as duplicating “defiled or undefiled”.

6 However, before he can cease to know them, he must first have known them exactly.

7 Acc. to Mpp-s 439 the Dharma-eye sees persons, and knows by which means or device, or through which teaching (dharma) they will find the Path. It differentiates between individual types, and is akin to what Christians call “the gift of spiritual discernment”.

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virtues this one gazes upon the unimpeded concentration.268 By means of the unimpeded concentration he will produce the vision and cognition of emancipation. By means of the vision and cognition of emancipation he will forsake three fetters, i.e. the view of individuality, the contagion of mere rule and ritual, and doubt. He then is the person who is called a Stream-winner. After he has acquired the path of development, he attenuates sensuous greed and ill will. He is then the person who is called a Once-Returner. Through making just this path of development preponderant and developing it, he will come to the forsaking of sensuous greed and of ill will. He is then the person who is called a Never-Returner. Through making just this path of development preponderant and developing it, he will forsake greed for the world of form, greed for the formless world, ignorance, conceit and excitedness.269 He is then the person who is called an Arhat”. This is the perfectly pure Dharma-Eye of the Bodhisattva, the great being. (P80) Moreover, a Bodhisattva knows wisely that “whatever is doomed to originate, all that is also doomed to stop”.270 Coursing in perfect wisdom, he attains the five cardinal virtues. This is the perfectly pure Dharma-Eye of a Bodhisattva.

Moreover, a Bodhisattva knows that this Bodhisattva, who has had his first thought of enlightenment, who courses in the perfection of giving or in the perfection of morality, thereby acquires the virtues of Faith and Vigour; that, endowed with skill in means he acquires a personality at will,271 and becomes firmly based on his wholesome roots. This Bodhisattva will be reborn among Brahmins, that one among nobles, that one among wealthy householders, and that one among the gods. He knows that, having abided among them, he will mature beings, present then with everything that makes for happiness and purify the Buddha-field, and that he will please the Tathagatas, honour,

8 See the scheme of the Path in the Numerical Lists. It takes place immediately one enters the Path of Development.

9 According to V.M. 469 and Vasubandhu’s Trimsika p. 31 this is clearly the meaning of auddhatya, and the alternative suggestions of Edgerton and others must be rejected. It is the attitude of a man who loses his peace of mind by getting quite excited over what he is doing; “full of himself”, he dwells in his mind on how well things have been going for him, and on how well he is doing for himself.

0 This is an echo of the first Sermon of Benares, S.N., V 423 – “doomed to”, dharmin, elsewhere translated as “subject to”. Whatever has the dharmic nature of originating has the dharmic nature of stopping.

1 Cf. P 187 and stage VIII B4, at P 224.

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respect and revere them and will not fall on the level of a Disciple or the level of a Pratyekabuddha. He knows that this Bodhisattva will not turn back until he has known full enlightenment. This is the Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Dharma-Eye. (P81)

Moreover, a Bodhisattva knows that “these Bodhisattvas have been predicted to full enlightenment, and those have not. These Bodhisattvas are irreversible, and those are not. These Bodhisattvas are in full possession of their super-knowledges, and those are not. This Bodhisattva, in full possession of his super-knowledges, goes, in each of the ten directions, to world-systems numberless as the sands of the Ganges, and there he honours, respects, reveres and worships the Tathagatas; go to numberless Buddha-fields, and does not there honour, respect, revere and worship the Tathagatas; that Bodhisattva, not in full possession of the super-knowledges, does not go to numberless Buddha-fields, and does not there honour, respect, revere and worship the Tathagatas. This Bodhisattva will become a recipient of the super-knowledges, that one will not. This Bodhisattva will have a perfectly pure Buddha-field, that one will not. This Bodhisattva has matured beings, that one has not. The Buddhas and Lords praise this Bodhisattva; that one they do not praise. These Bodhisattvas will stand near the Buddhas, the Lords; those will not. This Bodhisattva will have a limited congregation, that one an unlimited one. This Bodhisattva, after he has known full enlightenment, will have a congregation of Bodhisattvas; that one will not. This Bodhisattva is in his last rebirth; that one is not. This Bodhisattva will have a Mara; that one will not”. This is the perfectly pure Dharma-Eye of a Bodhisattva.

Sariputra: What is a Bodhisattva’s perfectly pure Buddha-Eye?

The Lord: The Bodhisattva, when immediately after272 the thought of enlightenment he has, with a wisdom conjoined with one single thought-moment, entered on the adamantine concentration,273 reaches the knowledge of all modes. He is endowed with the ten powers of a Tathagata, the four grounds of self confidence, the four analytical knowledges, the 18 special Buddha-dharmas, the great friendliness, the great compassion, the great sympathetic joy, the great even-mindedness, and the

2 This is not clear to me. P has bodhicitta-anantaram; S reads: anuttaram?

3 See the scheme of the Path in the Numerical Lists.

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unhindered deliverance of a Buddha. And that Eye of the Bodhisattva does not meet with anything that is not seen, heard, known or discerned – in all its modes. That is the Bodhisattva’s perfect Buddha-Eye.

It is thus that a Bodhisattva who wants to cleanse the five Eyes should make endeavours about the six perfections. And why? Because in the six perfections all wholesome dharmas are contained, all Disciple-dharmas, (P83) all Pratyekabuddha-dharmas, and all Bodhisattva-dharmas. When those who speak the Truth have spoken of “that which comprehends all wholesome dharmas”, they have spoken of the perfection of wisdom. For perfect wisdom is the genetrix of all the perfections, and also of those five Eyes of a Bodhisattva. Having trained themselves in those five Eyes of a Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattvas know full enlightenment.

(5. The six super-knowledges.)

I 2,8. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE SIX SUPER-KNOWLEDGES.274

The Bodhisattva, the great being who courses in this perfection of wisdom, develops the perfection of super-knowledge. (1) He experiences psychic power in its various aspects. He shakes this very earth. Having been one, he becomes manifold; having been manifold, he becomes one. He can make himself visible or invisible. Right through a wall, a- rampart, or a hill, he glides unhindered, as though through empty space. Cross-legged he floats along, like a bird on the wing. He plunges into the earth and shoots up again, as if in water. He walks on water275 without sinking into it, as if on solid ground. With his body he emits smoke and flames of fire, like a great mass of fire, and at the same time releases streams of cold water, like a great rain-cloud. (P84) Even the sun and the moon, powerful and mighty though they be, he touches and strokes with his hands. Even as far as the Brahma world he has power over his body. – But he does not fancy himself for that psychic power. For he does not get at that psychic power, which would allow him to mind (it) – on account of the emptiness, the isolated ness, the in-apprehensibility of its own-being. He does not, apart from his attention to the state of all-knowledge, produce a will for psychic power, nor a will for calling forth psychic

274 For further details see my Buddhist Scriptures, 1959, p

per-knowledges, five are occult, and the sixth spiritual. 275 cf. N

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power. It is thus that a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom calls forth the cognition of the realisation of the super-knowledge of psychic power.

(2)

With the heavenly ear-element, perfectly pure and surpassing that of man, he hears sounds, celestial as well as human. – But he does not, by means of that heavenly ear, fancy that he hears sounds. For he does not get at that sound, because its own-being is empty, isolated, cannot be apprehended. Outside his attention to the knowledge of all modes he does not produce a will for the heavenly ear. It is thus that a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom calls forth the cognition of the realisation of the super-knowledge of the heavenly ear. (P85)

(3)

With his heart he wisely knows, as it really is, the thought of other beings and persons. He wisely knows, as it really is, a greedy thought as a “greedy thought”, a greedless thought as a “greedless thought”; a thought with hate as a “thought with hate”, a thought without hate as a “thought without hate”; deluded thought as “deluded thought”, un-deluded thought as “un-deluded thought”; thought with craving as “thought with craving”, thought without craving as “thought without craving”; thought with grasping as “thought with grasping”, thought without grasping as “thought without grasping”; composed thought as “composed thought”, disturbed thought as “disturbed thought”; limited thought as “limited thought”, extensive thought as “extensive thought”, lofty thought as “lofty thought”; concentrated thought as “concentrated thought”, un-concentrated thought as “un-concentrated thought”; detached thought as “detached thought”, un-detached thought as “un-detached thought”; thought with outflows as “thought with outflows”, thought without outflows as “thought without outflows”; thought with blemish as “thought with blemish”, thought without blemish as “thought without blemish”; thought with something above it as “thought with something above it”, thought with nothing above it as “thought with nothing above it”. – But he does not, because of that, fancy himself. Because that thought is no-thought, on account of its un-thinkability. He does not imagine that he knows wisely. And that very thought he does not get at, on account of the emptiness, isolated-ness, and in-apprehensibility of its own-being. He does not, apart from his attention to the knowledge of all modes, produce a will for the cognition of others’ thoughts. It is thus that the Bodhisattva who courses in perfect

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wisdom calls forth the cognition of the realisation of the super-knowledge of the thoughts and actions of all beings. (P86)

(4)

With the cognition of the recollection of his past lives he remembers one birth, two births, three births, up to one hundred thousand births. He also remembers one thought, etc. up to one hundred thoughts; one day up to one hundred days; one month up to one hundred months; one year up to one hundred years; one aeon up to one hundred aeons, many hundreds of aeons, many hundreds of thousands of aeons, many hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of aeons; up to the limit of the beginning he remembers. “There I was, that was my name, that was my family, that was my caste, such was my food, such was the length of my life, such was the extent of my lifespan. Deceased from there I was reborn here; deceased from here I was reborn there.” It is thus that he recollects his various previous lives with all their modes, details and occasions. – But he does not fancy himself for that super-knowledge of the recollection of his former lives. Because that cognition is a non-cognition, on account of its un-thinkability. He does not imagine that he knows wisely. And that very thought he does not get at, on account of the emptiness, isolated-ness and in-apprehensibility of its own-being. (P87) He does not, outside his attention to the knowledge of all modes, produce a will for the knowledge of his past lives. It is thus that the Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom calls forth the cognition of the realization of the super-knowledge of the recollection of his former lives.

(5)

With the heavenly eye, pure and surpassing that of men, he sees beings, as they die and arise (again). He wisely knows that “those beings, whether beautiful or ugly, low or exalted, undergo a happy or wretched destiny according to karma. Here are the beings who are endowed with good conduct of body, speech and mind, who have not reviled the holy men, who have right views, and who, with this good conduct of body, speech and mind for cause, are reborn in a happy place, in Heaven (among the gods). There, on the other hand, are the beings who are endowed with bad conduct of body, speech and mind, who have reviled the holy men, who have wrong views, and who, because they have acquired the karma of evil views, are reborn, upon the breaking up of the body, after death, in the states of woe, in a wretched destiny, in great distress, in the hells.” It is thus that he wisely knows with the heavenly eye, pure and surpassing that of men, as it really is, the decease and rebirth of beings in the six places of rebirth – in the

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universe in all the ten directions, in all the world-systems, with the Dharma-element as the highest (development), and the space element as the terminus. But he does not fancy himself for that. For this eye is no eye, on account of its un-thinkability. (P88) He does not fancy himself for the fact that he sees. That very eye he does not get at, on account of the emptiness, isolated-ness and in-apprehensibility of its own-being. He does not, apart from his attention to the knowledge of all modes, produce a will for the heavenly eye. It is thus that the Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom calls forth the super-knowledge of the heavenly eye.

(6)

He calls forth the super-cognition of the realisation of non-production, but he does not fall on the level of Disciple or Pratyekabuddha. Nor does he see any dharma which knows full enlightenment.276 He does not put his mind to the wholesomeness of the achievement of the cognition of the super-knowledge of the realisation of the extinction of the outflows. For that cognition is a non-cognition, on account of its un-thinkability. He does not put his mind to the fact that he knows wisely. It is thus that the Bodhisattva, who course in perfect wisdom, calls forth the cognition of the realisation of the super-knowledge of the extinction of the outflows. (P89)

It is thus again that the six super-knowledges of the Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, are fulfilled and purified. These super-knowledges, when perfectly pure, procure the knowledge of all modes.

(6. Emptiness, No-minding and Sameness.)

There are Bodhisattvas, great beings who, coursing in perfect wisdom, and having stood in the perfection of giving, cleanse the roadway to the knowledge of all modes because by means of absolute emptiness they have grasped at nothing at all. There are others who, having stood in the perfection of morality, cleanse it on account of committing no offence. Others, having stood in the perfection of patience, cleanse it on account of their imperturbability. Others, having stood in the perfection of vigour, cleanse it on account of the indefatigability of their bodily and mental vigour. Others, having stood in the perfection of concentration, cleanse it on account of the un-distracted state of their thought. Others, having stood in the perfection of wisdom,

6 So S. P: Nor does he strive for any dharma except for “I will awake to full enlightenment”. 109

cleanse it on account of their having expelled all stupid thoughts. It is thus that the Bodhisattvas who course in perfect wisdom, having stood in the six perfections, cleanse the roadway to the knowledge of all modes, on account of absolute emptiness.

A gift is conceived on account of taking; morality on account of immorality; patience on account of impatience; vigour on account of sloth; concentration on account lack of concentration; wisdom on account of stupidity.277

The Bodhisattva does not put his mind to such ideas as “I have crossed over”, or “I have not crossed over”;278 giver or no giver; one of good conduct, one of bad conduct; one who has achieved patience, one who is angry;279 one who exerts vigour, one who is slothful; (P90) one who is concentrated, one who is not concentrated; one who is wise, one who is stupid; “I am abused’, “I am praised”, “I am treated with respect”, “I am not treated with respect”. And why? Because the perfection of wisdom cuts off all mindings.

All the virtuous qualities which come to a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom are not found in the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas. Perfecting these virtuous qualities, he matures beings, purifies the Buddha-field, and reaches the knowledge of all modes.

A Bodhisattva, Sariputra, who courses in perfect wisdom, produces an even state of mind towards all beings. As a result he acquires insight into the sameness of all dharmas, and learns to establish all beings in this insight. In this very life he becomes dear and pleasing to the Buddhas, the Lords, and to all Bodhisattvas, Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas. Wherever he may be reborn he will never again see unpleasant forms with his eyes, nor hear unpleasant sounds with his ears (P91), nor smell unpleasant smells with his nose, nor taste unpleasant tastes with his tongue, nor feel unpleasant sensations with his body, nor become aware of unpleasant dharmas with his mind. Nor does he fail of full enlightenment.

Interlude

When this exposition of perfect wisdom was being expounded, three hundred nuns, wearing their religious garments in a proper

7 Virtues are nothing in themselves. They are merely antidotes to undesirable stages. 27

8 The translation here follows S.

9 In P this passage is not quite clear. For the Tibetan see BLSOAS xxv, 377.

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and correct manner,280 made offerings to the Lord, and raised their thoughts to the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment. Thereupon the Lord smiled on that occasion. The Venerable Ananda rose from his seat, put his upper robe over one shoulder, placed his right knee on the earth, stretched forth his folded hands towards the Lord, and said to the Lord: “What is the cause, what the reason, for the manifestation of this smile? It is not without cause, not without reason, that the Buddhas, the Lords, manifest a smile”.

The Lord: These three hundred nuns will, Ananda, appear in the world in the sixty-first aeon from now as Tathagatas by the name of Mahaketu. Having deceased there in the Star-like aeon, they will be reborn in the Buddha-field of Akshobhya, the Tathagata. And sixty thousand gods, matured through this demonstration of Dharma (P92), will win final Nirvana in the presence of Maitreya, the Tathagata.

Thereupon, through the might of the Lord, the four assemblies of the Lord Sakyamuni saw, in each one of the ten directions, a thousand Buddhas, all visible from the circle of the assembly, and they also saw they cannot see a glory as splendid as that of the Buddha-fields of the those Buddhas and Lords in the ten directions. Ten thousand living creatures from the circle of the assembly of the Lord Sakyamuni thereupon made the vow: “We shall bring about enough merit to be reborn in those Buddha-fields!”

Thereupon the Lord, seeing the resolution of those sons of good family, smiled on that occasion.

Ananda: What is the cause, what the reason for the manifestation of a smile?

The Lord: Do you see, Ananda, those ten thousand living creatures?

Ananda: I do, O Lord.

The Lord: These ten thousand living creatures, deceased here, will be reborn in the ten directions in one thousand Buddha-fields, and nowhere will they be deprived of the Tathagatas. Afterwards they will appear in the world as Tathagatas, Vyuharaja by name. (P93)

0 In P this passage is not quite clear. For the Tibetan see BLSOAS xxv, 377.

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CHAPTER 4 EQUAL TO THE UNEQUALLED

Thereupon the Ven. Sariputra, the Ven. Mahamaudgalyayana, the Ven. Subhuti, the Ven. Mahakasyapa, and many other well-known monks and Bodhisattvas, nuns, laymen and laywomen spoke thus to the Lord:

This perfection of wisdom is a great perfection of the Bodhisattvas, the foremost perfection, the most distinguished perfection, the most excellent perfection, the supreme perfection, the highest perfection, the unequalled perfection, a perfection like space, a perfection with an emptiness of own-marks, a perfection endowed with all qualities, an un-crushable perfection. For the Bodhisattvas, who course in this perfection of wisdom, have given a gift which equals the unequalled, and they have fulfilled the perfection of giving which equals the unequalled. They have acquired a personality which equals the unequalled. They will become recipients of the dharma which equals the unequalled, i.e. of the utmost, right, and perfect enlightenment. They have guarded a morality which equals the unequalled, developed a patience which equals the unequalled, exerted a vigour which equals the unequalled (P94), brought forth a concentration which equals the unequalled, and developed a wisdom which equals the unequalled. Coursing in just the perfection of wisdom You, O Lord, have become a recipient of a form which equals the unequalled, of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness which equal the unequalled. You have known an unequalled full enlightenment, you have turned the unequalled wheel of dharma. Likewise the past, future, and present Buddhas and Lords, coursing in just this perfection of wisdom, have known full enlightenment, will know, do know it. Therefore a Bodhisattva who wants to go to what is the Beyond of all dharmas, should make endeavours in the perfection of wisdom. By the world with its gods, men, and Asuras, should homage be paid to those Bodhisattvas, those great beings, who course in this perfection of wisdom!

Thereupon the Lord said to these many Disciples and 112

Bodhisattvas: So it is, sons of good family, so it is. The world with its gods, men, and Asuras should pay homage to those Bodhisattvas, those great beings, who course in the perfection of wisdom. And why? Because it is thanks to the Bodhisattvas that there takes place in the world the manifestation of the world of men, of the world of gods, of good families, i.e. of nobles, Brahmins and well-to-do householders; of Universal-Monarchs, of the various classes of gods; (P95) of Streamwinners, Once-Returners, Never-Returners, Arhats, Prayekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and Tathagatas. It is thanks to the Bodhisattvas that there takes place in the world the manifestation of the Triple Jewel. And wherever there appear in the world the worldly means of life – food, drink, clothes, dwelling places, medicinal appliances for sickness, gems, pearls, lapis lazuli, conch shells, camphor, coral, gold and silver, etc. to: all that bestows ease in the realms of gods and men, and the ease of Nirvana – that everywhere is due to the Bodhisattvas. And why? Because the Bodhisattva, coursing on his course, enjoins the six perfections on beings – causes gifts to be given and morality to be undertaken, establishes them in patience and enjoins vigour, establishes them in trance and enjoins wisdom. And it is thanks to the Bodhisattva that anyone ever courses in the perfection of wisdom. In that way does the Bodhisattva practice for the benefit and ease of all beings.

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CHAPTER 5 THE TONGUE

Thereupon the Lord on that occasion put out his tongue, and with it He covered this great trichiliocosm. Lights of many different colours issued from that tongue, and darted in all the ten directions to world-systems countless as the sands of the Ganges, and caused a great illumination. (P96) In all the ten directions, in Buddha-fields countless as the sands of the Ganges, countless Bodhisattvas who had seen this glorious splendour questioned the Buddhas, the Lords, each one in their own Buddha-field: “whose is this might through which this splendour and illumination are shown forth?”

The Buddhas and Lords replied: “In the Saha world-system, in the West, etc. to: below, there stands, holds and maintains himself a Tathagata called Sakyamuni. As a result of his putting out his tongue the world-systems countless as the sands of the Ganges have in all direction everywhere been irradiated with illumination, so as to help the Perfection of Wisdom to be demonstrated and revealed to the Bodhisattvas, the great beings”.

The Bodhisattvas then said to the Tathagatas: “We will go to that Saha world-system, in order to see, salute, and honour that Lord Sakyamuni, the Tathagata and the Bodhisattvas assembled from the ten directions, and to listen to that Perfection of Wisdom”.

The Buddhas, the Lords replied: “Go then, sons of good family, as you see fit”.

Those Bodhisattvas, those great beings, from all the ten directions, having taken flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, unguents, powders, robes, parasols, flags, banners and streamers, having taken jewels, gold, silver and flower-buds, approached the Lord Sakyamuni with the music of turyas and cymbals. And the various classes of gods (P97) having taken heavenly flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, unguents, powders, robes, parasols, flags, banners, blue lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, Mandarava flowers, Kesara flowers and Tamala leaves, also approached the Lord. The Bodhisattvas and gods scattered those

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flowers, etc. over the Tathagata. Thereupon those flowers, etc., rose into the intermediate space, and above this great trichiliocosm a pointed Tower of flowers shaped itself, with four pillars, quadrangular, well proportioned, enjoyable, pleasing to the mind.

Hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of living creatures from that assembly thereupon rose from their seats, put their upper robes over one shoulder, placed their right knees on the earth, stretched forth their folded hands to the Lord, and said to the Lord:

“We, O Lord, will in a future period become recipients of such dharmas as the Tathagata is a recipient of, and thus will we foster the community of the disciples and thus will we demonstrate dharma to the assembly, just as now the Tathagata, the Lord demonstrates Dharma here”.

The Lord then knew the resolution of those sons of good family, he knew their patient acceptance of the non-production of all dharmas, of their non-stopping, of their not being brought about, of their non-manifestation – and He smiled. Various-coloured rays issued from his mouth, circulated round the whole world, and then returned to the Lord, and disappeared in his head.

The Venerable Ananda thereupon rose from his seat (P98), put his upper robe over one shoulder, placed his right knee on the earth, stretched forth his folded hands towards the Lord, and said to the Lord: “What is the cause, what the reason for the manifestation of a smile?”

The Lord replied: “These hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of living creatures will, after sixty-eight kotis of aeons, appear in the world as Tathagatas, Bodhyangapushpa by name, in the Pushpakara aeon”. 115

CHAPTER 6 SUBHUTI

B. PHASES OF THE EXTINCTION OF SELF.

(1. The teaching proceeds from the Buddha’s might.)

I 2,9. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE PATH OF VISION.

I 2,9a. SURVEY OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE PATH OF VISION.

The Lord : Make it clear then, Subhuti, regarding281 the perfection of wisdom of the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, how the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, may go forth to the perfection of wisdom!

Thereupon those Bodhisattvas, great beings, those great Disciples and those gods thought to themselves: will the Ven. Subhuti expound perfect wisdom to the Bodhisattvas by exerting his own power of revealing wisdom, or through the Buddha’s might?

The Venerable Subhuti, who knew, through the Buddha’s might, that those Bodhisattvas, Great Disciples, and Gods were in such wise discoursing in their hearts, said to the Ven. Sariputra: Whatever Sariputra, the Lord’s Disciples teach, demonstrate, and expound, all that is to be known as the Tathagata’s work. And why? Because in the demonstration of dharma, as demonstrated by the Tathagata, they train themselves, and they realize its true nature.282 (P99) After they have realized its true nature,

1 arabhya. The exact force of this “preposition” at this point, which coincides with the beginning of the argument in A, has puzzled me for a long time. It may also mean “starting from”.

2 dharmata. The teachings of the Buddha have become an object of spiritual realization (adhigama, H) in disciples like Subhuti, who are not Bodhisattvas, and who can therefore, anomalous as it may seem, appear to teach Bodhisattvas who are their spiritual superiors in the Mahayana hierarchy. In fact they are just the mouth-pieces of the Buddha, channels through which the Dharma flows into this world.

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whatever they may teach, demonstrate and expound, all that does not contradict the true nature of dharma. It is just the Tathagata who, by skilful means, will expound (through the Disciples) the perfection of wisdom to the Bodhisattvas, the great beings. (Without inspiration from Him) it is outside the province of all the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas to expound the perfection of wisdom to the Bodhisattvas, the

(2. The Bodhisattva, a mere word, inaccessible as dharma.)

I 2,9,1. ACCEPTANCE OF COGNITION OF DHARMA IN SUFFERING.

Subhuti : One speaks, O Lord, of “Bodhisattva”. What dharma does this word “Bodhisattva” denote? I do not see that dharma “Bodhisattva”. Since I do not see a Bodhisattva and fail to apprehend a Perfection of Wisdom, which Bodhisattva shall I instruct in which perfection of wisdom?*

The Lord : “Perfect Wisdom” and “Bodhisattva”, mere words are these. And the reality which corresponds to the word “Bodhisattva” cannot be apprehended, either inwardly, or outwardly, or between the two. Just as one speaks of a “being” although no being can be apprehended in actual reality; and that word “being” is a mere concept, a conceptual dharma and has the status of a concept.

I 2,9,2. COGNITION OF DHARMA IN SUFFERING.

Except in so far as it is conventionally expressed by means of a mere conventional term, there is no production or stopping of this conceptual dharma. And the same holds good of such terms as “self”, “soul”, “personality”, etc. to: “one who sees”. (P100) In the same way, that which corresponds in reality to such words as “perfect wisdom” or “Bodhisattva”, that is a mere conceptual dharma which is neither produced nor stopped, except for its conventional expression by means of a mere conventional term. Such ideas as “this is inward form, etc.” merely refer to conceptual dharmas, and of these conceptual dharmas there is no production or stopping, except in so far as they are conventionally expressed by means of mere conceptual terms. (P101) And what holds good of the skandhas, that is also true of the 18 elements. On the 117

subject-side283 this body is conventionally called a “body” and also the head, neck, belly, muscles, shoulders, arms, hands, ribs, hips, thighs, legs, and feet are conventionally expressed in those terms; but they are only conceptual dharmas, and of these conceptual dharmas there is no production or stopping, except in so far as they are conventionally expressed by means of mere conceptual terms. On the object-side, such things as a bunch of grass, a branch, a leaf, a petal, etc., are conventionally expressed by manifold designations; but of those words there is no production or stopping, except in so far as they are conventionally expressed by means of mere conventional terms, and the reality corresponding to those words cannot be apprehended inwardly, outwardly, or between the two. Just so “perfect wisdom” and “Bodhisattva” are mere conceptual dharmas, and there is no production or stopping of them except in so far as they are conventionally expressed by means of mere conventional terms. It is thus that a Bodhisattva should train in perfect wisdom.

Just as a dream, an echo, a mirage, a reflected image, a mock show, a magical creation of the Tathagata, are all conceptual dharmas, and of these conceptual dharmas there is no production or stopping, except in so far as they are conventionally expressed by means of mere conceptual terms, just so “perfect wisdom” and “Bodhisattva” are mere conceptual dharmas, and they are neither produced nor stopped, except in so far as they are conventionally expressed by means of mere conventional terms. (P102) It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, should train in (the insight that) words and conventional terms are but concepts, and that also the instruction and dharmas are but concepts.

I 2,9,3. ACCEPTANCE OF SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF DHARMA IN SUFFERING.

Therefore a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, does

3 This is a somewhat clumsy attempt to render adhyatmikam, which elsewhere occurs as “inwardly”, and is contrasted with “outwardly”, or here “on the subject-side”, Abhidharmic exercises deal with the distribution of the contents of experience between those facts and events which are “interior to a person” and those which are “exterior to a person”. The “person”, though implied, must, however, never be mentioned, and so a certain amount of circumlocution is unavoidable. In this example the surface of the skin is taken as the dividing line between “inward” and “outward”, but that is not necessarily always the case. 118

not review that “form”, etc. as permanent or impermanent, ease or ill, self or nor-self, calm or un-calm, empty or not empty, sign or sign-less, wish or wish-less, conditioned or unconditioned, produced or un-produced, stopped or not stopped isolated or not isolated, wholesome or unwholesome, faulty or faultless, with or without outflows, defiled or undefiled, worldly or supra-mundane, defilement or purification, Samsara or Nirvana. (P103) (P104) And the same consideration applies to the 18 elements, and to the feelings of ease, etc., which are produced from contact between eye, form, and eye-consciousness as their condition. And so for the other senses. (P105)

I 2,9,4. SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF SUFFERING.

And why? Because a Bodhisattva, though he courses in perfect wisdom, does not see the perfection of wisdom or the word “perfection of wisdom”, the Bodhisattva or the word “Bodhisattva”, in either the conditioned or the unconditioned element. For a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom does not construct or discriminate all these dharmas. Having stood in the un-discriminated dharma, he develops the applications of mindfulness. Coursing in perfect wisdom, he reviews neither the perfection of wisdom no the word “perfection of wisdom”, neither a Bodhisattva nor the word “Bodhisattva”. Thus he develops the right efforts, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas. And yet, except through his attention to the knowledge of all modes, he reviews neither the perfection of wisdom nor the word “perfection of wisdom”, neither a Bodhisattva nor the word “Bodhisattva”, neither the Buddha nor the word “Buddha”.

I 2,9,5. ACCEPTANCE OF COGNITION OF DHARMA IN ORIGINATION.

For that Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom penetrates to the dharmic mark of dharmas which is neither defiled nor purified. It is thus that a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should learn to recognise the concept of dharma as a word and as a conventional term.

I 2,9,6. COGNITION OF DHARMA IN ORIGINATION.

He then will not settle down in form, or in any of the other skandhas. (P106)

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I 2,9,7. ACCEPTANCE OF SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF DHARMA IN ORIGINATION.

Not in any of the perfections, not in their name or their mark, not in the body of a Bodhisattva,284 nor in any of the Five Eyes, or the super-knowledges, or the 18 kinds of emptiness; (P107) not in Suchness, the Reality Limit, or the Element of Dharma; not in the maturing of beings, the purification of the Buddha-field, or in skill in means. And why? Because he who could settle down, whereby or wherein he could settle down, all these dharmas do not exist.

I 2,9,8. SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF ORIGINATION.

It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, not having settle down in all-dharmas, grows in the perfection of giving, and the other perfections. He enters into the Bodhisattva’s special way of salvation.

I 2,9,9. ACCEPTANCE OF COGNITION OF DHARMA IN STOPPING.

and into the irreversible stage.

I 2,9,10. COGNITION OF DHARMA IN STOPPING.

Coursing thus, a Bodhisattva fulfils the super-knowledges, and then passes on from Buddha-field to Buddha-field, matures beings, and honours, respects and reveres the Buddhas, the Lords; and by means of that wholesome root he is reborn near those Buddhas and Lords, he hears the Dharma (from them) and never again forgets it until he reaches the seat of enlightenment; he will acquire the Dharani-doors and the concentration-doors.285 It is thus that a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should learn to recognise the concept of a dharma as a word and as a conventional term. (P108)

I 2,9,11. ACCEPTANCE OF SUBSEQUENT COGNITION IN STOPPING.

What do you think, Subhuti – one speaks of a “Bodhisattva”. Is a Bodhisattva form, or is he other than form? Is he in form, or is form in him, or is he without form? (P109) An the same questions can be asked about the Bodhisattva’s relation to the other skandhas, to the 18 elements, the 6 physical elements, and the 12

4 So Gilgit-P f. 45a. S ii 380 bodhikaye, P kaye.

85 The Dharanis (P212) will help him to remember the teaching, and the concentrations enable him to contemplate it with inward calm.

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links.

Subhuti : “No, O Lord”, is the answer in every case. (P110)

I 2,9,12. SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF STOPPING.

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, is the Suchness of form, etc., the Bodhisattva, or is the Bodhisattva other than the Suchness of form, etc.? Is the skandhas-Suchness the Bodhisattva, or is the Bodhisattva other than the skandha-Suchness? (P111) Moreover, Subhuti, for what reason do you say that “form, etc., is not the Bodhisattva”, and that “the Suchness of form, etc., is not the Bodhisattva”? (P112)

Subhuti : Absolutely a Bodhi-being does not exist, is not got at. Then how can a Bodhisattva be form, or anything else, until we come to : decay and death? And further, how then can that Suchness of his form, etc., be got at? That is not possible. (P113)

The Lord : Well said, Subhuti. Just so should a Bodhisattva be trained through the non-apprehension of the perfection of wisdom.

I 2,9,13. ACCEPTANCE OF COGNITION OF DHARMA IN THE PATH.

What do you think, Subhuti, does the word “Bodhisattva” denote form, etc.?

Subhuti : No indeed, O Lord.

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, does that word “Bodhisattva” denote the permanence of form, etc., or its impermanence, its ease or ill, etc. to : its emptiness or non-emptiness, etc.?

Subhuti : No indeed, O Lord.

The Lord : For what reason do you say that? (P114)

Subhuti : Absolutely form, etc., does not exist and is not got at, and so also permanence, etc. How then could the word “Bodhisattva” denote form, etc., or the permanence of form etc., or its impermanence, etc.?

The Lord : Well said, Subhuti. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, and who does not apprehend anything that is denoted by the words form, etc., or permanence, etc., should train in the perfection of wisdom. (P115)

I 2,9,14. COGNITION OF DHARMA IN THE PATH.

As you said, Subhuti, “I do not see (when reviewing it) that

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dharma ‘Bodhisattva’”. For a dharma cannot review the Dharma-element,286 nor can the Dharma-element review a dharma.

I 2,9,15. ACCEPTANCE OF SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF THE PATH.

The element of form, etc., does not review the Dharma-element, and vice versa. And equally so for the element of feeling, etc.

I 2,9,16. SUBSEQUENT COGNITION OF THE PATH.

The conditioned element does not review the unconditioned element, and vice versa.

I 2,10. INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT.

The Unconditioned cannot be made known287 through the exclusion of the conditioned, nor the conditioned through the exclusion of the Unconditioned.

A Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not review any dharma. In consequence he does not tremble, is not frightened, nor terrified. No dharma can cow his mind, and he knows no regrets. And why? Because this Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom does not review form, etc., nor the links, nor greed, hate or delusion, nor self, a being, a soul, etc. (P116)

Subhuti : For what reason does the thought of a Bodhisattva not become cowed, or stolid?

The Lord : Because he does not apprehend or review the dharmas which constitute thought and its concomitants.288

Subhuti : How is it that his mind does not tremble?

The Lord : He does not get at mind or mind-element and does not review them. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, through the non-apprehension of all dharmas should course in perfect wisdom. If the Bodhisattva, the great being, who follows the perfection of

6 At this point one must clearly distinguish between the “dharma-element” in the Hinayana sense, where “dharma” means the objects of the sixth sense-organ, i.e. mind, and the “Dharma-element” in the Mahayana sense, where “Dharma” means Truth, ultimate and absolute Reality. 28

7 or : conceived separately from.

8 Thought, citta, refers to the mind-organ and the six kinds of consciousness. For Dhs 1189-90 the cetasika are the skandhas of feeling, perception and impulses, whereas for the Sarvastivadins, the “concomitants” of thought are 46 mental factors “associated with” consciousness, either invariably or only occasionally.

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wisdom, does not apprehend that perfection of wisdom, nor a Bodhisattva, nor the word “Bodhisattva” – then this is truly his instruction and admonition in the perfection of wisdom.

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CHAPTER 7 ENTRANCE INTO THE CERTAINTY OF SALVATION

(3. Degrees of Ripeness of Insight.)

Subhuti : A Bodhisattva should train in perfect wisdom if he wants to fulfil the six perfections, to comprehend form, etc. (P117), to forsake greed, hate, and delusion, the fetters, unwholesome tendencies and obsessions, the yokes, the four floods, the four bonds, the four graspings, the four perverted views; to forsake the ten un-wholesome ways of acting and to fulfil the ten wholesome ways of acting (P118), etc. to : if he wants to fulfil the intentions of all beings. When he has fulfilled all these wholesome roots, he will as a result not fall into the states of woe, is not reborn in low-class families (P119), does not abide on the level of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha. In addition such a Bodhisattva does not fall from the Summits.289

Sariputra : How does a Bodhisattva fall from the summits?

Subhuti : When he courses without skill in means in the six perfections. One speaks of the Rawness of a Bodhisattva if, having entered on the concentrations of Emptiness, the Sign-less, and the Wish-less, he does not fall on the level of a Disciple or a Pratyekabuddha, but, being unskilled in means, also does not enter into a Bodhisattva’s (distinctive) Way of Salvation.

Sariputra : For what reason is that called a Bodhisattva’s “Rawness”?

Subhuti : A Bodhisattva’s craving for (separate) dharmas is called “Rawness”.

I 3. The Aids to Penetration.

9 For the sake of simplicity I read murdhanam, although most documents seem to have something like mu(r)dhanam. See Edgerton s.v. 124

I 3a. WEAK HEAT WITH REGARD TO THE TRUTH OF ILL.290

Sariputra : What is the craving for (separate) dharmas?

Subhuti : Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, settles down in the idea that “form, etc., is impermanent”, insists on it and holds it to be true. This is called the Rawness of Adaptable Craving for separate dharmas on the part of a Bodhisattva. And the same holds good when he settles down in such ideas as “form, etc., is ill, not self, empty, sign-less, wish-less”.

I 3b. WEAK HEAT WITH REGARD TO THE TRUTH OF ORIGINATION.

Or in : “This is form, etc., should be forsaken, by him form, etc., should be forsaken”. (P120) “This ill should be comprehended, by him ill should be comprehended.” “This origination should be forsaken, by him origination should be forsaken”

I 3a. WEAK HEAT WITH REGARD TO THE TRUTH OF STOPPING.

“This stopping should be realised, by him stopping should be realised.” “This is defilement, this purification.” “These dharmas should be tended, those should not be tended.” “Here a Bodhisattva should course, there he should not course.” “This is the path of a Bodhisattva, that is not” “This is the training of a Bodhisattva, that is not.” “This is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of giving, etc., that is not.” That is the Ripening291 of the Bodhisattva, the great being. If a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, settles down in these dharmas, insists on them, holds them to be truly real, that is the Rawness of his acting in conformity with the craving292 for separate dharmas.

Sariputra : What is the Ripening of a Bodhisattva?

Subhuti : Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not review the subjective-objective emptiness in the subjective emptiness,293 nor the subjective in the objective, nor the subjective-objective in the objective, nor the objective in the subjective, nor the emptiness of emptiness in the subjective emptiness, (P121) and so on for all the kinds of emptiness. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, enters into the Ripening of a Bodhisattva.

0 In I 3a-c the translation follows S iii 486-490.

1 lit. De-rawing, ny-ama; also: his specific way of winning salvation.

92 anulomiki, very often used in connection with “Patience”, as the “patient acceptance” which conforms, or adapts itself to, the actual nature of dharmas.

3 see P 195 no. 1 sqq.

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I 3d. WEAK HEAT WITH REGARD TO THE TRUTH OF THE PATH.

(4. Thought transparently luminous.)

A Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, should train himself to cognize form, etc., to develop the limbs of enlightenment, etc., and to cognize the 18 Buddha-dharmas. But he should not fancy himself for any of this. *It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, should cognize his thought of enlightenment, should cognize his even thought,294 should cognize his exalted thought, but should not, because of that, fancy himself. And why? Because that thought is a non-thought, since in its essential original nature it is transparently luminous.295*

Sariputra : What is the transparent luminosity of thought?

Subhuti : It is a thought which is neither conjoined with greed, nor disjoined from it (P122), which is neither conjoined with hate, delusion, obsessions, coverings, unwholesome tendencies, fetters, or what makes for views, nor disjoined from these.

*Sariputra : That thought which is a non-thought, is that something which is?

Subhuti : Does there exist, or can one apprehend, in this state of absence of thought either a “there is” or a “there is not”?

Sariputra : No, not that.

4 S: “unequalled thought”, which seems more suitable. The Bodhisattva is a being who has formed the “thought of enlightenment” and that, as stated expressly in A i 5, is the thought which is here referred to. A fine description of the attributes of the bodhicitta can be found in the Nairatmyaparipriccha. It ends with the verse:

“Not subject to modifications, essentially inactive, unoccupied, unfettered,

Immaterial, like unto the firmament, these are the marks of the thought of enlightenment.

It has transcended spiritual development, lies outside the range of the outsiders,

And its nature is that of Perfect Wisdom.

Incomparable, non-appearing, invisible and quite calm

Perfectly pure and insubstantial, these are the marks of the thought of enlightenment”.

5 prabhasvara. Samadhiraga xxii 14: “Issued from so much merit, the Buddha’s body is pure and transparently luminous”, and xxii 27: “When it is no longer eager for name-and-form, then thought becomes transparently luminous” – The “thought which is no-thought” is what we would the “Spirit”. It is easy to see that it is not thought, more difficult to understand how it resembles thought sufficiently to be called “thought”, and still more difficult to grasp how its two contradictory attributes are combined in a dialectical unity. It is “Pure Thought”, a “mere shine”, without an object, and yet it somehow differs from the Thought of Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover who contemplates his own Thought.

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Subhuti : Was it then a suitable question when the Ven. Sariputra asked whether that thought which is a non-thought is something which is?

Sariputra : What then is this state of absence of thought?

Subhuti : It is without modification or discrimination. It is the true nature of all dharmas.296 This is called the unthinkable297 No-thought-hood.*

Sariputra : And just as that no-thought-hood is without modification or discrimination, in the same way also form, and all dharmas up to enlightenment, are without modification or discrimination?

Subhuti : So it is, Sariputra.

*Sariputra : Well said, well said, Subhuti, for you are the Lord’s legitimate son, born from his mouth, a child of the Dharma (P123), conjured up by the Dharma, an heir to the Dharma, not an heir according to the flesh, an immediate eyewitness of these dharmas.298 Your exposition is that of the one whom the Lord has declared to be the foremost of the Disciples who dwell in Peace.299 Thus, as you say, Subhuti, should a Bodhisattva train in perfect wisdom. This is the reason300 why a Bodhisattva should be considered as incapable of turning away from full enlightenment, and be known as one who is not lacking in perfect wisdom.

I 3e. THE DISTINCITVE CAUSALITY FOR ALL (the vehicles and degrees).301

Whether he wants to train on the level of a Disciple, a Pratyekabuddha or a Buddha – a Bodhisattva should listen to this Perfection of Wisdom, learn it, bear it in mind, recite, study, and wisely consider it. And why? Because here in this Perfection of

6 dharmata, “Dharmahood”. S and Gilgit-P have “Suchness” instead.

7 in S and Gilgit-P, but not in P or A.

8 “an immediate eye witness of these dharmas”, literally : “the dharmas are directly before his eyes, and he witnesses them with his body” (personally, in the flesh). In V.M. 659-60 the “bodily witness” is one of the seven kinds of “holy persons” who have all achieved the “cognition of even-mindedness as regards conditioned things”.

9 See my Buddhist Wisdom Books, 1958, p. 45.

0 i.e., because he does not pride himself on his thought of enlightenment, H 41.

1 This cryptic phrase means: All the degrees of the Aids to Penetration act as a “cause” (hetu) which brings about the attainment, on the Mahayanistic Path of Vision, of the specific spiritual realization which is characteristic of the persons who follow any of the three vehicles (see H 43, AA I 27, my translation p. 41, Ob. P.62). 127

Wisdom are expounded in detail the three careers in which the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, as well as the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas should train.302*

2 The translation follows Gilgit P 53a.

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CHAPTER 8 SRENIKA THE WANDERER

(5. How the irreversible Bodhisattva views things.)

I 3f. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR MEDIUM HEAT.303

Subhuti : I who do not find or apprehend anything to correspond to the words “Bodhisattva” and “perfect wisdom” – which Bodhisattva should I then instruct and admonish in which perfect wisdom? (P124) It would surely be regrettable if I, unable to get at the arising and passing away of any dharma, should merely in words cause a Bodhisattva and a perfection of wisdom to arrive and to pass away. Moreover, what is thus designated is not continuous nor discontinuous, and it has not stability anywhere.304 And why? Because of the fact that it does not exist (apart from ignorance). That is why it is not continuous or discontinuous, and has no stability anywhere.* I do not get at the arising and (P125) passing away of form, etc., nor do I see it when reviewing. And so for the other dharmas (P126) up to: the Suchness of all dharmas. To what then could that word “Bodhisattva” refer? And what is thus designated is not continuous or discontinuous, it has no stability anywhere. Because apart from ignorance, it does not exist.

I 3g. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR STRONG HEAT.

Moreover, the reality corresponding to “Bodhisattva” taken as a conventional term for a dharma, as a concept of a dharma, cannot be expressed by anything, from form to (P127) the

3 The translation of I3f-h follows S iv 504-613.

4 na sthitam, it has no lasting continuous existence (H). na visthitam, it is likewise untrue to say that there are breaks or interruptions in its continuous existence, that it does not remain the same, is dissimilar to itself at different times. na-adhisthitam, nor is there a constant factor which, standing above all changes, over-towering and outlasting the, sustains it as a durable substance or invariable essence. An alternative translation would be: “It is not self-identical or disparate, and it does not remain substantially the same”.

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Buddha-dharmas. (The reality corresponding to) space, earth, and the other physical elements, to Suchness, No-falsehood, unaltered Suchness, Dharma-Suchness, Dharma-element, the Constant Sequence of Dharma, the Reality Limit, the perfection of giving and the other perfections, to morality, concentration, wisdom, emancipation, the vision and cognition of emancipation, to the Stream-winner, etc. to: to the Fully Enlightened One, cannot be expressed by anything, be it wholesome or unwholesome, faulty or faultless, permanent or impermanent, ease or ill, self or not self, calm or un-calm, isolated or not isolated, existent or non-existent. For this reason I say that “it would surely be regrettable if I, unable either to apprehend or review the arising and passing away of any dharma, would bring about (only) the designation of something, i.e., of “Bodhisattva” and “perfect wisdom”. Moreover, that designation is not continuous or discontinuous, and it has no stability anywhere. And why? Because of the fact that it has no existence (apart from ignorance).

I 3h. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR LOW SUMMITS.

(6. Perfect wisdom opposed to:

(a) Formative Influences.)

*Moreover, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should not stand in form, etc. to : in decay and death. *And why? Because form is empty of form. What is the emptiness of form, that is not form; nor is emptiness other than form; the very form is emptiness and very emptiness is form. And so for the other skandhas. By this method a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should not stand in form, etc. to: consciousness. And the same method should be applied to the other dharmas, (P129, 130) from the eye to the six perfections and the eighteen Buddha-dharmas, to the syllables, to single utterances, double utterances, and separate utterances,305(P131) to the super-knowledges, all concentrations, and all Dharani-doors; to the conviction that “form, etc. is permanent or impermanent, ease or ill, self or not self, calm or not calm, empty or not empty, sign or sign-less, wish or wish-less, isolated or not isolated” (P132); to Suchness, the true nature of Dharma, the Realm of Dharma, the

5 The exact meaning of these terms is not clear to me.

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Fixed Sequence of Dharma and the Reality limit.

*If a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom stands in form, etc. with a mind devoid of skill in means and prone to I-making and Mine-making, then he courses in the formative influence of form, etc. and not in perfect wisdom. And why? Because while coursing in formative influences, a Bodhisattva cannot gain perfect wisdom, nor make endeavours about, or fulfil it. When he does not fulfil perfect wisdom, he cannot go forth to the knowledge of all modes. And why? Because form cannot be appropriated. But the non-appropriation of form is not form, on account of the emptiness of its essential original nature. And that applies to all dharmas, including perfect wisdom itself. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, should investigate all dharmas as empty in their essential original nature. (P133) He should survey them in such a way that there is no mental apperception of any dharma. This is the concentration circle of the Bodhisattva which is called “The non-appropriation of all dharmas” – vast, noble and fixed on infinitude, to which all Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas have no claim, and in which they have no share.306 Dwelling in this concentration circle, a Bodhisattva will go forth to the knowledge of all modes. But also that knowledge of all modes cannot be appropriated, on account of the emptiness of the subject, and all the other kinds of emptiness.

I 3i. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR MEDIUM SUMMITS.

(6. Perfect wisdom opposed to:

(b) the Sign.)

And why? Because the knowledge of all modes should not be seized through a sign; for sign is defilement.* What again is “sign”? Form, etc. to: the Reality Limit are “signs”, and they all are called “defilement”.* If, again, perfect wisdom could be seized through a sign, then Srenika Wanderer would not have gained faith in this our religion and in the cognition of the * “Faith” here

6 The name of the samadhi can also be interpreted as “that which cannot be appropriated, or seized upon, by any dharma” (H 49). It is as “vast” as the Realm of Dharma; the “infinitude” is that of the number of beings whose welfare is promoted by this trance.

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means the believing in perfect wisdom, the trusting confidence, the resoluteness, the deliberation, the weighing up, the testing – and that in the absence of any sign. Thus should ((perfect wisdom)) be taken up through the signless. (P134)

*When Srenika the Wanderer had faith in that cognition of the All-knowing, he entered as a Faith-follower on a cognition with a limited scope. Having entered on it, he did not take hold of form, or any other skandha.* And why? Since all dharmas are empty of their own marks, there was no dharma which he could take hold of, on account of his non-attention to a sign. And why? For he did not review that cognition as due to an attainment and reunion which is inward, or outward, or both inward and outward, or elsewhere. And why? For he did not review that dharma which he could have known wisely, or by which he could have known wisely.* And why? He did not review that cognition as inside form, or as outside form, or as both inside and outside form, or as something other than form, on account of subjective-objective emptiness.

According to this Scripture passage, Srenika the Wanderer, after he had resolutely believed in the cognition of the All-knowing, entered as a Faith-follower on a cognition with a limited scope, and then made the true dharmic nature of the cognition of the All-knowing into his standard, by way of his non-apprehension of all dharmas. Putting his trust in his faith, he took hold of no dharma whatsoever, on account of his non-attention to all signs. He also apprehended no dharma which he might take hold of, or which he might set free, on account of the fact that no dharma can be appropriated or abandoned. (P135) He did not even care about Nirvana. And why? The non-appropriation and the non-abandonment of all dharmas, that is perfect wisdom.

This is also of a Bodhisattva the perfection of wisdom, which has gone to a Beyond which is no Beyond,307 that he does not take hold of form and the other skandhas, because no dharma has been appropriated. Nor does he enter final Nirvana prematurely, i.e. before he has fulfilled the Vows, etc to: the powers of a Tathagata, the four grounds of self-confidence, the four analytical knowledges and the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas. And why? Because all the dharmas, including the Buddha-dharmas, are no dharmas. In fact they are neither dharmas nor no-dharmas. This is the

7 prajnaparamita aparaparagamanatamupadaya; pha-rol ma mchis-pa’i pha-rol-tu phyin-pas. 132

perfection of wisdom of a Bodhisattva who has not appropriated any dharma whatsoever.

I 3k. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR HIGH SUMMITS.

(6. Perfect wisdom opposed to:

(c) What exists.)

Moreover, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should investigate what this perfection of wisdom is and shoes, how, and whereby it is. If again a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom meditates on perfect wisdom as a dharma which does not exist and which cannot be apprehended, then he courses (not?) in perfect wisdom.

Sariputra : Which are the dharmas that do not exist and that cannot be apprehended? (P136)

Subhuti : The perfection of wisdom, and the other perfections, the emptinesses, skandhas, Suchness, etc. – on account of the 18 kinds of emptiness. And if the thought of a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom and investigates and meditates in such a way does not become cowed or stolid, does not tremble, is not frightened or terrified, then that Bodhisattva should be known as not lacking in perfect wisdom.

I 3l. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR WEAK PATIENCE.

(7. The Bodhisattva, wisdom, and enlightenment.)

(a) Sariputra : For what reason should a Bodhisattva be known as not lacking in perfect wisdom?

Subhuti : Form, etc., is lacking in the own-being of form, etc.

Sariputra : What then is the own-being of form, etc.? (P137)

Subhuti : Non-positivity is the own-being of form, etc. By this method one should know that form, etc., is lacking in the own-being of form, etc. Moreover, form, etc. Moreover, form, etc. does not posses the mark of form, etc. The mark does not possess the own-being of a mark, and the own-being does not possess the mark of (being) own-being.

Sariputra : A Bodhisattva who trains in this will go forth to the

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knowledge of all modes?

I 3m. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR MEDIUM PATIENCE.

Subhuti : He will. And why? Because all dharmas are unborn (P138) and do not go forth.

Sariputra : For what reason are all dharmas unborn and do not go forth?

Subhuti : Form is empty of the own-being of form; one cannot apprehend any birth or going-forth with regard to it. And so for all dharmas, up to: the Reality Limit. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, comes near to the knowledge of all modes. To the extent that he comes near it, he obtains the perfect purity of body, thought and marks. To the extent that he obtains the perfect purity of body, thought and marks, he produces no thought accompanied by greed, hate, or delusion, or by conceit, cupidity, or bad views. Owing to the non-production of such thoughts he is never again reborn in the belly of a mother, but constantly and always he is reborn apparitionally.308 From Buddha-field he passes on to Buddha-field, honours the Buddhas, the Lords, matures beings and purifies the Buddha-field. Until the time that he knows full enlightenment he is never again deprived of those Buddhas and Lords. It is thus, Sariputra, that a Bodhisattva come near to full enlightenment.*

8 see my Buddhist Wisdom Books, 1958, p. 25. – This occurs on the 9th Stage, see P 224.

134

CHAPTER 9 THE SIGN

I 3n. THE OBJECT, ASPECT, AND DISTINCTION FOR STRONG PATIENCE.

*(c) If, O Lord, a Bodhisattva, who is unskilled in means, coursing in perfect wisdom courses in form, etc., or in any idea about form, etc., being permanent or impermanent, etc., then he courses in a sign, (P139) and not in perfect wisdom. If a Bodhisattva, who is unskilled in means, coursing in perfect wisdom thinks that “I course in perfect wisdom”, then he courses in a basis,309 then he courses in a sign; and likewise when it occurs to him that “he who courses thus, courses in perfect wisdom and develops it”. This should be known as a Bodhisattva’s lack of skill in means.*

Sariputra : For what reason should that be known as a Bodhisattva’s lack of skill in means?

Subhuti : Because such a Bodhisattva, when coursing in perfect wisdom, insists on form, etc., perceives it, is intent on it, and in consequence he courses in the formative influence of form, etc. I know that he is not released from birth, decay and death, sorrow, sickness, lamentation, pain, sadness and despair, that he is not released from the great suffering. (P140) And if a Bodhisattva is unable even to realize the level of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha, how much less can he know full enlightenment! That is impossible. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, should be known as unskilled in means.

Sariputra : What should be known as his skill in means.

Subhuti : A Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, does not insist on form, etc., does not perceive it, is not intent on it. He does not course in form, etc., nor in the sign of form, etc., nor in the conviction that “form, etc., is permanent, etc.” (P141) And why? For what is the emptiness of form, not that is form; and no other than form is emptiness, no other than emptiness is form, etc. It is

309 upa

135

A Bodhisattva, who courses thus in perfect wisdom, is able to know full enlightenment. Furthermore, a

approaches any dharma, or does not approach it, or both approaches and does not approach it, or neither approaches nor does not approach it. Sariputra : For wha

ct wisdom, not approach (any dharma)? Subhuti : Because the own-being of per

hended. And why? Because perfect wisdom has non-existence for own-being. In this way a Bodhisattva does not approach the idea that “I course in perfect wisdom”, or the idea that “I do not course in it”, or “I course and I do not course”, or “I neither course nor do I not course”. And why? For he has approached all dharmas as having non-existence for their own-being, and has not appropriated them. If the thought of a Bodhisattva, who is thus coursing in perfect wisdom, does not become cowed or stolid, does not tremble, is not frightened or terrified, then it should be known that that Bodhisattva is near to the knowledge of all modes. (P142)

DHARMAS. (d)

ed, on account of all dharmas having non-existence for their own-being. This is the concentrated insight of the Bodhisattva which is called “non-genesis of the own-being of all dharmas” – vast, noble, and fixed on infinitude, to which no Disciple or Pratyekabuddha can lay claim. When he dwells in this concentrated insight, a Bodhisattva will quickly win full enlightenment.* Sariputra : Dw

ly know full enlightenment? Subhuti : gives a list a Conc

1c (=P198-203).

MUNDANE DHARMAS.

136

*This Bodhisattva has surely been pre

ntain themselves in this world, they also predict (the enlightenment of) such a Bodhisattva, such a great being. One who dwells in these concentrations does not, however, review them. He does not think with regard to any concen

m concentrated”, “I will enter into concentration”, “I have entered into concentration”, “I am entering into concentration”. All these discriminations the Bodhisattva does not have, does not get at.* I 3q.

(P145) Sariputra : Is then a Bodhisattva, who has stood in these concentratio

agatas? Subhuti : No indeed, Sariputra. And why? Because perfect wisdom is

isattva another. The Bodhisattva is precisely the concentration, the concentration is precisely the Bodhisattva. And both Bodhisattva and concentration are (identical with) perfect wisdom. *Sariputra : If concentration is not one thing and the Bodhisatt

hisattva and the Bodhisattva precisely the concentration – on account of the sameness of all dharmas – is it then possible to show forth any of these concentrations? Subhuti : Indeed not. Sariputra : Again, does that son

e concentrations?

Subhuti : No, Sariputra. Sariputra : How is i

Subhuti : Since he does n

Sariputra : How does he not discriminate it?

Subhuti : Because no dharma has existence

a Bodhisattva does not perceive any of these

Sariputra : How is it that he does not perceive it? Subhuti : Because of the non-discrimination of any of these

entrations.

I 3r. THE CONNEC

137

The Lord : Well said, Subhuti, well said, you whom

red to be the foremost of those who dwell in Peace. It is in such a way that a Bodhisattva should train in the perfection of wisdom, and in the other perfections, (P146) in the 37 dharmas which act as wings to enlightenment, etc. to: in the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha. Sariputra : When he

om? The

ehend it as a basis.* Sariputra : What does

he Lord : He does not apprehend a self,

who sees; the skandhas, the elements, suffering, origination, stopping, the Path, the triple world, the Unlimited, the trances, the formless attainments, the pillars of mindfulness, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas, the Stream-winner, etc. to: the Buddha – and all that on account of (the) absolute purity (of these dharmas). Sariputra : What then is that purity?

The Lord : The Un-produced,

ascertainable, the In-effective310 – that is called “purity”.

(a) *Sariputra : Wh

hisattva train himself in?

0 anabhisamskara, an almost untranslatable term. At P 149 it is rendered as the “Un-effected”. A.K. III 191 explains as “effortless”, without a special act of attention (anabhogena), but H 603 as “like the firmament it is self-luminous throughout in its essential nature”. 31

1 Pras. xvi 296 gives an interesting parallel to I 3s. “Beings cannot transcend Samsara because they base themselves on ideas about a self and what belongs to a self. For if someone reviews self and other, then his karma-formations are activated. A foolish, untaught, common person, who does not wisely know that absolutely all dharmas are completely nirvanized, apprehends self and other. He then settles down in this apprehension, and in consequence he becomes greedy, filled with hate, and confused, with the result that he brings about the triple activity by body, speech and mind. Super-imposing his discrimination over that which does not exist, he imagines ‘I am greedy, I hate, I am confused’.” I 3s obviously deals with some of the chief links of conditioned co-production.

138

The Lord : He does not trai

? Because these dharmas do not exist in such a way as the foolish common people are wont to suppose. Sariputra : How then do they not exist?

The Lord : They do not exist in such a w

mon people are wont to suppose. Sariputra : How then do they exist?

The Lord : As they do not exist, so t

e they do not exist except for ignorance, they are called (the result of) ignorance.

Sariputra : For what reason is that which does not e

ignorance called (the result of) ignorance? The Lord : Form, etc., do not exist, on accou

tiness.

But foolish people have settled down in ignorance and cravi

y have constructed (dharmas out of their) ignorance and craving, have settled down (in these results of) ignorance and craving, have become attached to the two extremes (of existence and non-existence), and both extremes they do not know or see. After they have constructed those dharmas which yet do not exist, they have settled down in name-and-form, etc. to: in the Buddha-dharmas.

After they have settled down in dharmas, they construct the t

remes which yet do not exist, and as a result they neither know nor see. What do they neither know nor see? Form, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas. (P148) For that reason they come to be styled “fools”.

PURIFICATION. Conditione

at) “form is defiled”, or that “form is purified”. They will not go forth. Wherefrom will they not go forth? From the triple world, and from the dharmas of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha.

139

I 3s,6. THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE NON-ESTABLISHMENT IN

They have no faith. What do they have no faith in? in the doctrin

pty of enlightenment. They do not stand firmly. What do they not stand firmly in? In the perfection of giving, etc. to: in the Buddha-dharmas. For these reasons are they called “fools”. They have settled down. What have they settled down in? In form, etc. to: enlightenment. (b) Sariputra : When he trains thus, is a Bodhisattva trained in perfect wisdom, and will he go

The Lord : A Bodhisattva who trains thus is not trained in perfect wisdom, and will not go forth to the knowledge of all modes.*

e, Sariputra, a Bodhisattva, unskilled in means, constructs the perfection of wisdom, and settles down in it. He constructs the other perfections, all dharmas, and the knowledge of all modes. In that case a Bodhisattva is not trained in perfect wisdom, and will not go forth to the knowledge of all modes. Sariputra : A Bodhisattva, who is trained thus, is not trained in perfect wisdom, and will not go forth to

es? The Lord : So it is, Sariputra. (P149)

7. THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE BASIS.

so that as a result he goes forth to the kn

The Lord : When a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, neither apprehends nor reviews Perfect Wisdom, when he thu

rses and trains in perfect wisdom, then he will go forth to the knowledge of all modes, in consequence of his non-apprehension. In the same spirit he should course in the other perfections, and he should also neither apprehend or review enlightenment, nor the knowledge of all modes. I 3s,8. THE DISCRIMINATIO

(does he achieve this result)?

The Lord : He does not apprehend or review a self, on account of its absolute purity.

140

I 3s,9. THE DISCRIMINA

that is purity.

I 3t. THE SEC

I 3t,1. CONCERNING THE HEAP

consciousness:

I 3t,2. CONCERN

I 3t,3. CONCERNING THE ELEMENTS AS ENTITIES

mind-element, mind-objects-element, min

element; I 3t,4. CONCERNING

I 3t,5. CONCERNING EMPTINESS AS AN EN

I 3t,6. CONCERNING THE PER

I 3t,7. CONCERNING T

I 3t,8. CONCERNING THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT.

I 3t,9. CONCERNING THE PATH OF THE ADEPTS.

(P150)

2 or “imagines”.

141

I 3u. THE FIRST DISCRIMINATION OF THE SUBJECT, REFERRING TO IT AS A SUBSTANT

I 3u,1. CONCERNING THE SELF AS AN INDEPENDENT REALITY. (The Bodhisattva) does not get

one who knows, one who sees. And why? Because, a

does not exist and cannot be apprehended. I 3u,2. CONCERNING THE SELF AS A UNITY. He also does not get at form, etc. to: conscio

I 3u,3. CONCERNING THE SELF AS A CAUSE.

, etc. to: mind; form, etc. to: dharmas;

I 3u,4. CONCERNING THE SELF AS A SPECTAT

eye, form, eye-consciousness, etc.;

I 3u,5. CONCERNING THE SELF AS THE RECEPTACL

conditioned co-production;

I 3u,6. CONCERNING THE SELF AS THE RECEPTACLE OF DISPASSION.

the formless attainments;

I 3u,7. CONCERNING THE SELF AS THE RECEPTACLE OF THE PATH OF V

the holy truths;

I 3u,8. CONCERNING THE SELF AS THE RECEPTACLE OF THE PATH OF

DEVELOPMENT.

stations;

I 3u,9. CONCERNING THE SELF AS THE FOUNDATION OF THE STATE OF ONE WHO HAS A

not get at them? Through their connection with selfhood. And why? On account of the absolut

142

143

Wish-less;

I 3v,7. THE CONCEPT OF THE PATH OF DEV ENT.

the trances and the formless attainments;

I 3v,8. THE CONCEPT OF THE DISTINCTIVE PATH.

the 18 kinds of emptiness;

THE PATH OF THE ADEPTS.

owers, the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha, and

n is not one thing and

form another. But the very form is illusion, the very illusion is form.

in the other perfections, and can

that e, can that reach the knowledge of all

modes?

tion, that concept, that conventional

expression – in the five grasping skandhas?

conventional expression,

apprehend the production or stopping, the defilement or

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, could someone, after

orth to the knowledge of all

nation, concept, conventional

expr o body, speech, or mind, and

duction or stopping, no

ELOPM

I 3v,9. THE CONCEPT OF

the ten penlightenment itself? (P153) Subhuti : Yes, it does, O Lord. *Illusio

And so for all other dharmas.*

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, is there a production or stopping of illusion? Subhuti : No, Lord. The Lord : Is there a defilement or purification of illusion? Subhuti : No, Lord.

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, that which is without production or stopping, without defilement or purification, can that train itself in perfect wisdom or

go forth to all-knowledg

Subhuti : No, Lord.

*The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, is that notion “Bodhisattva”, that denomina

Subhuti : No, Lord.*

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, can one through what is merely a notion, denomination, concept,

purification of the five grasping skandhas?

Subhuti : No Lord.

he has trained in perfect wisdom, go fmodi

es, if he had no notion, denomession, name or verbal concept; n

no deeds of body, speech or mind; no prodefil

ement or purification?

144

Subhu

imperfect wisdom, goes forth to the knowledge

equence of the fact that there is noth

*Subhuti : Therefore a Bodhisattva, wwisdr full enlightenmen

om, should train himself fo. And why? Because he, or r

skandhas, should be known as just like an illusory m

The Lord : What do you think, Subhuti, do the five grasping skandhas after they have trained in perfect wisdom, go forth to the know

ledge of all modes? Subhuti : No, Lord. And why? (P154) Because the own-being of the five grasping skandhas is nonexistent. The five skandarsimilar t

has e o a dream. A dream cannot be apprehended, because its own-being does not exist, and in the same way the five skand

has cannot be apprben

own-ig. you think, Subhuti, could the five skandh

The Lord : What do ha

they ve trained in perfect wisdom, go forth to the knowledge of all modes, if they were similar to an echo, to an apparition, to a magical creation, to an image of the moon reflected in the water? Subhuti : No, Lord. And why? For the own-being of an echo, of an

apparition, of a mandj

xistent, ust so the five skandhas can, because of the non-existence of their own-being, not be apprehended. And form is like an illusion, and so the other skandhas, and likewise all dharmis being taught, a

as. If, when this d

me cowe or stolid, has no regrets, does not tremble, is not frightened or terrified, then one should know that he will go forth to all-knowledge, and will reach the knowledge of all modes. I 3w..

SKILL IN MEANS, TH

(11a. Skill in means.) Subhuti : Will not Bodhisattvas, who have newly set out in the vehicle, become cowed, stolid and regretful when they hear this exposition, will they not trem

145

The Lord : They will t

course in perfect wisdom while still unskilled in means, or if they have not got into the hands of a good spiritual friend.* Subhuti : What is of a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, the sk

The Lord : Here a Bodhisattva, by means of a thought associated with the knowledge of all modes, contemplates form as impermanent, ill, etc. to: wish-less, and so also the other skandhas, and yet he does not apprehend any real fact.

should be known as the skill in means of a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom. Furthermore, a Bodhis

knowledge of all modes carries out the demonstration of Dharma, without taking anything as a basis. This is his perfection of giving. His perfection of morality consists in the fact that he remains untarnished by those very attentions; his perfection of patience in the ability to endure those very attentions, his willingness to find

erfection of vigour in the non-abandonment of those very attentions; his perfection of concentration in that he gives no opportunity to attentions associated with Disciples or Pratyekabuddhas, or to any other unwholesome dharmas. It is thus that a Bod

aid. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, who courses imperfect wisdom, contemplates the fact that form, etc., is not empty of the emptiness of form, etc., but that form, etc., is just emptiness, and the very emptiness is just form, etc. This is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of wisdom. (P156) It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, will remain unafraid. I 3w. THE GOOD SPIRITUAL FRIEND, THE SECOND ASSISTANCE.

(11b. The Good Friend.)

*Subhuti : Who the

raid on hearing this exposition of perfect wisdom? The Lord : Were the good friends of a Bodhisattva those who demonstrate to him the dharma that “form, etc., is imperma

146

etc.”

else

than

ledge of all modes, develops the

perf

taught by the Tathagatas”, “it is mere poetry made by

poe

he Evil One, approaches the

Bodhisattva in the guise of a Buddha and dissuades him from the

of good

family, develop the perfection of wisdom, and the other

he Evil One, will, in the guise of the

, analyse, amplify and illuminate the

scrip

, without taking anything as a basis. He does not, however, dedicate the wholesome roots (which he gains from such teachings) to the level of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha, but to nothing

to the knowledge of all modes. These are a Bodhisattva’s Good Friends who help him to remain unafraid.* (P157)

Subhuti : How does it come about that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, becomes unskilled in means, get into the hands of the Bad Friend, and becomes afraid when he has heard this exposition of the Perfection of Wisdom? The Lord : Here a Bodhisattva, having left behind the attentions associated with the know

ection of wisdom, gets at it, and fancies himself for it. And so for the other perfections. And again a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, leaves behind the attentions associated with the knowledge of all modes, and then he attends to the fact that “form, etc., is empty of a subject” (and so for all the 18 kinds of emptiness), but gets at that emptiness, puts his mind to it, as a result of assuming an objective basis. Subhuti : How does it come about that a Bodhisattva is being taken hold of by a Bad Friend, and that (P158) is consequence he becomes afraid when he hears this exposition of Perfect Wisdom? The Lord : Here a Bodhisattva is dissuaded from Perfect Wisdom by such words as, “One should not train in that! This has not been

ts, and one should not listen to it, learn or study, bear it in mind, preach it, attend to it or demonstrate it to others!” This is what Bad Friends do to a Bodhisattva. *Furthermore, someone is a Bad Friend to a Bodhisattva if he does not point out to him the deeds of Mara, does not describe to him the faults of Mara.* Here Mara, t

six perfections, with the words: “What for do you, son

perfections?” Or Mara, tBuddha, expound, reveal

tures associated with the level of a Disciple, i.e. the Discourses, Discourses in Prose and Verse Mingled, Predictions, Verses, Summaries, Origins, Thus-was-said, Birth-Stories, Expanded Texts, Marvl

els, Taes, and Expositions. Or Mara, the Evil One, may approach the Bodhisattva and say, “You, son of good family, have never had the thought of enlightenment, nor are you irreversible,

147

nor will you be able to know full enlightenment”. Or Mara, the Evil One, may approach the Bodhisattva in the guise of the Buddha, and say to him, “The eye (P159), son of good family, the ear, and everything up to the Buddha-dharmas, (all this) is empty of self and of what belongs to a self. What can you possibly do to k

htenment?” Or Mara, the Evil One, may approach the Bodhisattva in the guise of a Pratyekabuddha, and say to him, “Empty, O son of good family, is each of the ten directions of Buddhas and Lords, of Bodhisattvas and Disciples,

uddha, and no enlightenment, no Bodhisattva and no Disciple”. Or Mara, the Evil One, approaches the Bodhisattva in the guise of a Disciple, dissuades him from attentions associated with the knowledge of all modes and instructs admonishes him in attentions associated with the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas. Or Mara, the Evil One, may in the guise of his preceptor or teacher dissuade the Bodhisattva from the course of a Bodhisattva and from the attentions associated with the knowledge of all modes. With regard to the applications of m

paths, with regard to the Empty, the Sign-less, and the Wish-less, he will enjoin that, “after you have realised these dharmas, you should realise the level of a Disciple. What is there

ou in knowing the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment?” (P160) Or Mara, the Evil One, may approach the Bodhisattva in the guise of his father or mother and say to him, “Come on, son of good family, make efforts to win the realisation of the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: the fruit of an Arhat! What is there for you in knowing full enlightenment

ntless aeons, wander about in Samsara, and experience the cutting off of hands and feet?” Or, finally, Mara, the Evil One, may approach the Bodhisattva in the guise of a monk, and demonstrate to him that “form is impermanent, ill, not the self”, and so for all the dharmas up to the Buddha-dharmas, but while assuming an objective basis. One who does not point out or describe such deeds of Mara, he should be known as a Bad Friend, and, once recognized as such, should be shunned.

148

CHAPTER 11 SIMILES 313 C. WHAT TO BECOME: (I. The meaning of “Bodhi-being”.) I 4. The Lineage or the Source of Progress.314 313 apatrāpya, the chapter heading in AdT, means “dread of blame”, often couple with hrī, “sense of shame”. The explanations of Buddhaghosa, V.M. 464-5 and Vasubandhu, Trimśīkā 26-7, agree on essentials. Motivated either by self-respect, or by fear for one’s reputation, one avoids doing that which one ought not to do. It is, however, difficult to see how this can be regarded as a suitable heading for chapter 11. A Central Asian Ms of Ad gives aupamya, “similes”, which seems to fit better, and may at some time have been corrupted into auttapya = apatrāpya. 314 I 4 is one of the more unintelligible parts of the Sutra. Since the ostensible meaning is not very satisfactory, it probably hints at some esoteric teaching. AA groups ! 4-6 as follows: “(The Bodhisattva who proceeds on the Mahayanistic path) of progress is thus able to attain the Aids to Penetration (as discussed in I 3) and also the path of vision, and so on. (I 4). His true own-being is the Dharma-element, which is the foundation of his activities, which (I 5) he exercises with all dharmas as the object of his meditation, and (I 6) with the triple aim which constitutes his program” (HI 6). This arrangement is not altogether implausible, although I am not sure that at I 4 it reflects the intentions of the original authors of the Sutra. According to AA, I 4 concerns the “lineage” (gotra) of a Bodhisattva, his true nature, which is nothing else but the Realm of Dharma which through progressive purification becomes fit for enlightenment and represents the source or substratum of the dharmas of a Buddha. It is the active element in the Bodhisattva which urges him on to enlightenment and which through cultivation by study, etc., has

Buddha-hood for its final metamorphosis, I 4, 1-13 follow the order of the isattva’s progress or his process of cognition. This is clear for no. 1-6, 7 and 8 are the results of the two supra-mundane paths of vision and development, “and resemble the expulsion ofwhile 9 removes all rea

149

I 4a. THE LINEAGE AS SUCH.

*Subhuti : A B lled a “Bodhisattva”.

“Bodhisattva”, what is m

The Lord : Nothing real 315 is meant by the word

“Bodhisattva”.* And d is enlightenment,

unproduced is a being, there is no trace 317 of

enlightenment, or of a being (anywhere). That is why nothing real

is meant by the word “enlightenment-being”.

word “Bodhisatta”,318 that does not exist,

that cannot be apprehended;

I 4, 1. AS THE SOURCE OF HEAT.

just as in space the track319 of a bird320 does not exist and cannot

be apprehended; just as the track of a dream, an illusion, a mirage,

a

d,

odhisattva is caeant by that word? why? Unproduce316 and so

What is meant by the

nd echo, an image, a reflection of the moon in water, a village of the Gandharvas, or a magical creation does not exist and cannot be apprehended; (P161) I 4,2. AS THE SOURCE OF THE SUMMITS. just as the track of the Reality Limit, of Suchness, No-Falsehoo

unaltered Suchness, the Dharma-element, the established order of Dharma, the fixed sequence of Dharma, the Truth, does not exist and cannot be apprehended. I 4,3. AS THE SOURCE OF PATIENCE. No entity corresponding to a Bodhisattva6 who courses in perfect wisdom does exist, or can be got at, any more than there exists or can be got at the track of the form, etc. of an illusory man; as the source of a variety of “lineages”, and the reader is referred for the answer to AA I v. 39, H 77 and Ob. 92. 315 a-pada-artha. 316 A “Bodhi-sattva” is an “enlightenment-being”. 317 padam. 318 bodhisattva-padārtha. 319 padam. 320 This is an allusion to Dhp. 92, 93, = Udānavarga XXIX 23 sq. “Those who never accumulate, Those who know what their food implies, Their range in the Void, in the Signless, detached, Their track (padam) is very hard to trace, Like that of birds which fly across the sky.”

150

I 4,4. AS THE SOURCE OF HIGHE

more than there exists or can be got at the entity which corresponds to the form, etc., of an illusory m

8 kinds of emptiness, in the perfections, in the applications of mindfulness, etc. to: in the Buddhadharmas; I 4,5. AS THE SOURCE OF THE PATH OF VISION. any more than there exists or can be got at

agata an entity which corresponds to his form, etc.; (P162) and any more than there exists or c

enlightenment, in the powers, et

as no trace of the unconditioned element exists or can be apprehended in the conditioned element, or vice versa; I 4,6. AS THE SOURCE OF THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT. just as that which is

Nondefilement, Nonpurification” does not

at. And why? What is meant by the words “production, stopping, effected, manifested, basis, defilement, and purification”, that does not exist and cannot be apprehended. No trace of a real entity corresponding to a Bodhisattv

account of the applications of Bud

dhadharmas, exists or can be apprehended, on account of their absolute purity; just as in purity no trace of the self, of a being, a soul, etc. to: of one who sees, exists or can be apprehended, on account of the fact that the self, and its equivalents, have no real

being.

4,7. AS THE SO

No trace of a really existing Bodhisatt

hen he disk of the suing) darkness

t

e (preced

1 The illusory being who cognizes the nons

oes not exist as a separate reality. Ob.

2 so S vii 1253; P: “no trace of the light of t

, 10.

151

I 4,8. AS THE SOURCE OF THE FORSAKING OF DETRIMENTA

just as, when the universal conflagration at the end of an aeon has burned up everything, no trace of any conditioned thing is either found or got at;

ANTIDOTES AND HARMFUL STATES.

just as, with regard to the Tathagata, no trace of immortality is either found or got at in his morality, no trace of distraction in his concentration, no trace of stupidity in his wisdom, no trace of lack of emancipation in his emancipation, no trace of lack of vision and cognition of emancipation in his vision and cognition of emancipation. I 4,10. AS THE SOURCE OF WISDOM AND COMPASSION.

exist, and cannot be apprehended, just as one can

the track of the light of sun and moon; (P164) I 4,11. AS THE SOURCE OF THE VIRTUES (OF A BODHISATTVA) NOT SHARED WITH THE DISCIPLES. the track of the splendour of the planets and constellations, of jewels and of lightning flash,323 I 4,12. AS THE SOURCE OF THE SUCCESSIVE ACTIONS FOR THE WELFARE OF OTHERS. of the splendour of the gods, from the Four Great Kings to the Highest Gods, and of the Bodhisattvas,324 I 4,12. AS THE SOURCE OF THE ACTION OF THE COGNITION WHICH WORKS WITHOUT ANY E

or of the And why? For there, Subhuti, wh

at enlightenment is, what the Bodhisattva is, and what the “tracks”325 of the Bodhisattva are – all these dharmas are neither conjoined nor disjoined, immaterial, undefinable, nonresisting,ith one mark only, i.e. with

3 P couples this item with the “Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas” in a way which I do not understand. 32

4 so S, also S-Tib. Probably inadvertently omitted in Dutt’s edition of P. 325 padā

152

*A Bodhisattva should therefore be trained in nonattach

to all dharmas, and in their unreality – in the sense that he does not construct or discriminate them. In addition he should understand all dharmas.*

I 5. The Objective Supports.

(Classes of Dharmas.)326 I 5a. THE OBJECT IN GENERAL. Subhuti : What are all-dharmas? And how should a Bodhisattva be trained in their unreality? How should he understand all-d

unwholesome and (3) indeterminate; (4) w

amundane; (6) with outflows and (7) without outflows; (8) conditioned and (9) unconditioned; (10) common and (11) uncommon. These are called the all-dhar

the all-dharmas which a Bodhisattva should understand:

I 5, 1. WORLDLY WHOLESOME DHARMAS. Wholesome worldly dharm

Foundation of Meritorious Work consisting in Giving, in Morality, in (meditat

the one derived from material gifts given, in faith, to the Tathagata.327 The ten wholesome way

worm-eaten corpse, a festering corpse, a bloody corpse, a discoloured corpse,

bones, a burned corpse. The four w

ited, the four formless attainments, the five superknowledges. The ten worldly Recollections, i.e. the recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, of the Samgha, of morality, of renunciation, of gods, of breathing, of what concerns the body, of agitation, of death.

32

6 For a diagram of dharmas see Introduction p. 16.

7 The same list o

153

I 5, 2. W

Unwholesome worldly dharmas are: The ten ways of unwholesome actions, i.e. taking life, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, false speech, slander, harsh speech, frivolous talk, covetousn

conceit, false pride.

I 5, 3. INDETERMINATE DHA

speech and mind; the indetindet

erminate five dominants, the indeterminate six sensefields, the indeterminate four formless attainments, the indeterminate skandhas, the indeterminate elements, the indeterminate sense fields

, and all karma result. (P166) I 5, 4. WORLDLY (WHOLESOME) DHARMAS. Worldly dharmas are: The five skandhas, the twelve sense fields, the eighteen elements, the ten ways of wholesome action, the four trances, the four holy Unlimited, the four formless attainments, the five superknowledges, and, except

are.

I 5, 5. SUPRAMUNDANE DHARMAS. Supramundane dharmas are: The four applications of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five dominants, the five powers, the seven limbs of enlightenment, the holy eightfold path. The three doors to deliverance, i.e. emptiness, the signless, the wishless. The dominant of “I shall come to understand the not yet understood”, the dominant of understanding, the dominant of one who has understood. The concentration with thought adjusted and discursive; the concentration without thought adjusted, and only with thought discursive; the concentration without either thought adjusted or thought discursive. Science,328 Liberation, Mindfulness, Full awareness, wise attention. The eight deliverances, (P167) the nine attainments of su

8 vidyā, an untranslatable term, som

154

(P168) the four grounds of self-confide

ledges, the great friendliness, the great compassion, the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha. I 5, 6. DHARMAS WITH OUTFLOWS. Dharmas with outflows are: The five skandhas, the twelve sense fields, the eigh

superknowledges.

I 5, 7. DHARMAS WITHOUT OUTFLOWS. Dharmas without outflows are: The four applications of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five dominants, the five powers, the seven limbs of enlightenment, the holy eightfold pat

successive stations, the three doors to d

signless, the wishless. The ten powers of a Tathagata, the four grounds of self-confidence, the four analytical knowledges, the great friendliness, the great compassion, the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha. I 5, 8

world of form, the formless wor

are included in the conditioned element, i.e. the 37 wings of enlightenment, etc.329 I 5, 9. UNCONDITIONED DHARMAS. Unconditioned dharmas are: That of which there is no production, passing away, or alteration. Extinction of greed, hate, and delusion. Suchness, No-falseness, unaltered Suchness, the true nature of Dharma, the Dharma-element, the established order of Dharma, the fixed sequence of Dharma, the unthinkable element, the Reality limit. I 5, 10. COMMON DHARMAS.

harani-doors.

155

Common dharmas are: The four trances, the four holy Unlimited, the four formless attainments, the five superknowledges.

I 5, 11. UNCOMMON DHARMAS.

Uncommon dharmas are: The four applications of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five dominants, the five powers, the seven limbs of enlightenment, the

successive stations, the three doors t

signless, the wishless, all concentrations and all Dharani-doors. The ten powers of a Tathagata, the four grounds of self-confidence, the four analytical knowledges, the great friendliness, the great compassion and the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha. (P169) I 5, 11. THE OBJECTIVE SUPPORTS OF PROGRESS. A Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, should not become attached to any of these dharmas, which are empty of own-marks. And all dharmas should be understood in accordance with nondu

. The Program. I 6, 1. THE GREATNESS OF THE ASPIRATION TO RAISE ALL BEINGS TO THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE STATE.

(II. The meaning of “Great Bein

*Subhuti : A Bodhisattva is called a “great being”. For what reason is a Bodhisattva called a “great being”? The Lord : He is called a “great being” because here he will cause a great mass of beings, a great collection of beings, to achieve the highe

collection of beings?

clan, to those who have reached the eighth-lowest stage, to 156

Stre

il we come to: to the Bodhisattvas who stand on

the irreversible stage. That is the great mass and collection of

l cause to achieve the highest. And

he w

as.

With my thought exclusively set on the knowledge of all modes

where should I train

ances, the formless attainments, the

the ten powers, the grounds of

ecial Buddhadharmas”. This is the

an adamantine thought by the Bodhisattva, the great

achieve the highest; and that without

depending on anything.331

the

thought that “For the sake of as many beings as feel a painful

feelin

ise a Bodhisattva

shou

hells, of the animal world, of the world of

Yama

behind. Through this skill in means will I, for

amwinners, Once-returners, Arhats, to Pratyekabuddhas, to Bodhisattvas, great beings, who have had the first thought of enlightenment, unt

beings which a Bodhisattva wil

ill cause them to achieve the highest after he has produced an adamantine thought.330 The Lord : Here a Bodhisattva, a great being, produces a thought thus: “After I have in the measureless stream of Samsara put on the armour, I should become one who never abandons all beings. Towards all beings should I adopt the same attitude of mind. All beings should I lead to Nirvana, by means of the three vehicles. (P170) And even when I have led all beings to Nirvana, no being at all has been led to Nirvana. And why? I should look through to the nonproduction and nonstopping of all dharm

should I course in the six perfections. Everymys

elf to accomplish the penetration into all dharmas. To the consummation of the one principle of all dharmas should I penetrate, etc., until we come to: for the sake of the penetration to the consummation of the perfections should I be trained in all dharmas, for the sake of the penetration to the consummation of the Unlimited, the tr

superknowledges, of self-confidence, the sp

production of being. Supported thereon he will cause a great mass and collection of beings to

Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, a great being produces

g in the hells, among the animals, or in the world of Yama I will feel that (same) painful feeling!” Likew

ld produce a thought thus: “For the sake of each single being I will experience for hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of aeons the pains of the

, until those beings have won Nirvana in the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing

330 vajropamam cittam. 331 anupalambhayogena.

157

the sake of all beings, experience that pain of the hells, of the animal world, of the world of Yama, until these beings have won Nirvana in the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind. Afterwards I will, for the sake of my own self, know full enlightenment after I have planted wholesome roots for hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of aeons and become equipped for enlightenment with a ma

uction of an adamantine thought. Furthermore, in order to achieve the highest for all beings a Bodhisattva, should constantly have a sublime thought. The sublime state of his thought consists in that, on account of the first thought of enlightenment, in him no thought of greed is produced, nor of hate, delusion or harming, nor a Disciple-thought or Pratyekabuddha-thought. (P171) This is the sublime state of thought of a Bodhisattva by which he will achieve the highest for all beings. But he does not put his mind to that thought. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva should become one whose thought is unshakable. A Bodhisattva’s unshakable state of thought consists in his not putting his mind even to the mental activities associated with the knowledge of all modes. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva should become one whose thought is directed towards the benefit and ease of all beings consists in the sheltering of all beings, in not abandoning them. But he does not put his mind to that. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, coursing in perfect wisdom, will achieve the highest for all beings. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva should have a constant liking for Dharma, a delight in Dharma, fondness for Dharma, devotion to Dharma. What here is Dharma? The unbroken unity of all dharmas. What is the

rness for Dharma. What is delight in Dharma? The pleasure in Dharma. What is fondness for Dharma? The appreciation of its qualities. What is devotion to Dharma? The developing, the making much of that Dharma. It is thus that a Bodhisatva, coursing in perfect wisdom, should achieve the highest for all beings, and that without depending on anything. Moreover, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should achieve the highest for all beings after he has stood in the 18 kinds of emptiness, the 37 wings of enlightenment, the powers, etc. to:

oncentration which is,

158

and all that without depending on anything. Having stood in these dharmas, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom should make a great mass and collection of beings achieve the highest. It is for this reason that a Bodhisattva is called a “great being”.

159

CHAPTER 12

160

*Subhuti : A Bodhisattva is called a “great being”, because he

remains unattached eve of enlightenment, the

thought which equals t thought which is not

shared by any of the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas. (P173)

And why? thought of

all-knowledge, which i ded in the

triple world.*

Sariputra : What then is the thought of a Bodhisattva that

by any of the Disciples or

Pratyekabuddhas?

on account of the production of

the first thought of enlightenment, does not review of any dharma

the p

r purification. And where there is neither

defilement n

decr

and un-included” – surely the

thou

mptiness of its

esse

s and un-included, on

account of the emptiness of its essential original nature, and so are

u say.

s said334 that “it is

n to his thought he unequalled, theBecause he remains unattached even to the s without outflows and un-inclu

equals the unequalled and is not shared

Subhuti : Here a Bodhisattva,

roduction or stopping, the decrease or increase, the coming or going, the defilement o

or purification, neither coming nor going, neither

ease nor increase, neither production nor stopping, that is not the thought of a Disciple or of a Pratyekabuddha. This is a Bodhisattva’s thought which equals the unequalled and is not shared by any of the Disciples or Pratyekabuddhas. Sariputra : With regard to what the Ven. Subhuti has said about the Bodhisattva being “unattached even to the thought of all-knowledge, which is without outflows and un-included in the triple world”,333 surely form, etc., is also unattached, on account of the emptiness of its essential original nature? Subhuti : So it is, Sariputra. Sariputra : When the Ven. Subhuti speaks of “that thought of all-knowledge, without outflows

ght of the foolish common people also (P174) is without outflows and un-included, on account of the e

ntial original nature, and the same holds good for the thought of all Disciples, Pratyekabuddhas, and fully enlightened Buddhas? Subhuti : So it is, Ven. Sariputra. Sariputra : Form is also without outflow

all other dharmas? Subhuti : So it is, Ven. Sariputra, as yo

Sariputra : When again the Ven. Subhuti ha

Pratyekabuddhas”. 334 This saying of Subhuti d

161

beca

, which equals the unequalled, which is not shared

by D

use that thought is no-thought that he remains unattached even to that thought”, is not also form unattached to no-form, and so for all other dharmas? Subhuti : So it is, Sariputra, as you say. It is thus that a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom does not because of that (P175) fancy himself for that thought (for enlightenment and all-knowledge)

isciples and Pratyekabuddhas, and he does not settle down in it, in consequence of taking no dharma as a basis. 162

CHAPTER 13

THE SIX PERFECTIONS I 7-10. THE PROGRESS AS SUCH.

163

Furthermore, Sariputra, the perfection of giving of a

Bodhisattva, who cour dom and gives gifts,

consists in that, with att with the knowledge of

all modes, he turns over to full enlightenment that gift which he

gives, after he results from

the act of giving) comm on of morality

consists in that, with his whole attention centred on the knowledge

of all modes, he shuns the attentions of Disciples and

n of patience in the enduring of

those dharmas, in his willingness to find pleasure in them, in his

perfection of vigour in the

indefatigability with which he continues to dedicate his wholesome

roots

n in his one-pointed-ness of

thou hen he dedicates that

who

o a Disciple-thought or

a Pr

tion that everything is made of

illusi

ll modes, a

Bodhisattva does not long for the level of a Disciple or

ses imperfect wisentions associated has made that wholesome root (whichon to all beings. His perfecti

Pratyekabuddhas; his perfectio

ability to tolerate them;335 his

to full enlightenment, after he has made them common to all beings; his perfection of concentratio

ght when he gives a gift, so that, w

lesome root to enlightenment, after he has made it common to all beings, he gives through keeping his whole attention centred on the knowledge of all modes, no opportunity t

atyekabuddha-thought. (P177) His perfection of wisdom consists in that he sets up the no

on,336 and in that he gets at no giver, recipient, or gift. With his thought associated with the knowledge of all modes, that Bodhisattva does not make these six perfections into a sign, and does not get at them. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, is armed with the great armour. I 7b. THE SECOND SEXTAD, CONNECTED WITH THE PERFECTION OF MORALITY. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfection of morality, gives a gift with attentions associated with the knowledge of all modes, dedicates it to full enlightenment, after he has made (the merit from) that gift common to all beings – and that without taking anything as a basis. This is the perfection of giving of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of morality. With his whole attention centred on the knowledge of a

Pratyekabuddha, and much less still for the level of the common

so S, athese dharmas – as for “faith” at P 133. 336

164

peo

n the knowledge

of all modes, and not associated with Disciple or Pratyekabuddhas,

mmon to all beings; (P178) this is the perfection of giving

of a

Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of vigour,

NECTED WITH THE PERFECTION OF

ple. This is the perfection of morality of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of morality. The enduring of those dharmas, the willingness to find pleasure in them, the ability to tolerate them, that is the perfection of patience of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of morality. The indefatigability and un-cowed-ness with which he continues to dedicate his wholesome roots to full enlightenment, after he has made them common to all beings that is the perfection of vigour of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of morality. The one-pointed-ness of thought of a Bodhisattva who practises morality, i.e. that he gives, through keeping his whole attention centred on the knowledge of all modes, no opportunity to production of thought associated with Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas, when he dedicates that wholesome root to full enlightenment, after he has made it common to all beings. He sets up the notion that everything is made of illusion; he gets at no one who practises morality, and that morality he does not either mind or get at; this is the perfection of wisdom of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of morality. It is thus that a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of morality takes hold of the six perfections. It is thus that he comes to be called “armed with the great armour”. I 7c. THE THIRD SEXTAD, CONNECTED WITH THE PERFECTION OF PATIENCE. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, who courses in the perfection of patience, gives a gift; with his attention centred o

he dedicates that wholesome root to full enlightenment, having made it co

Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of patience, should be understood by analogy with what has been said before. A Bodhisattva, who courses in the perfection of patience, exerts himself through wisdom to procure all Buddha-dharmas, and to mature all beings; this is the perfection of wisdom of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of patience. I 7d. THE FOURTH SEXTAD, CONNECTED WITH THE PERFECTION OF VIGOUR. By analogy one should understand the six perfections of a

I 7e. THE FIFTH SEXTAD, CON

165

MEDITATION. and concentration. I 7f. THE SIXTH SEXTAD, CONNECTED WITH THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, who courses in the perfection of wisdom, gives a gift which is threefold pure;337 with his attention centred on the knowledge of all modes, he dedicates to full enlightenment that gift which he gives, after he has made that wholesome root common to all beings. This is the perfection of giving of a Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of wisdom. Similarly should one understand the perfection of morality, patience, vigour, and concentration of a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom. (P179) With regard to all perfections, and to all dharmas, he sets up the notion that they are an illusion, a dream, a reflected image, an echo, a reflection, a magical creation; with his attention centred on all-knowledge, he dedicates to full enlightenment that wholesome root, after he has made it common to all beings. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, fulfils the perfection of wisdom. A Bodhisattva is then called “armed with the great armour”. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, having stood firm in e

. THE ARMOUR OF THE SKILL IN MEANS. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva enters into the trances, Unlimited, and formless attainments, but he does not relish them,338 is not captivated by them, is not reborn on account of them.339 This, Sariputra, is of a Bodhisattva, a great being, the perfection of wisdom which is associated with skill in means. A Bodhisattva furthermore dwells in the trances and formless attainments by way of the vision of detachment, of emptiness, of the sign-less, of the wish-less, and yet he does not realize the reality limit. This is the great armour of the skill in means of the Bodhisattva who courses in the perfection of wisdom.

337 i.e. uncontaminated by any ideas about giver, gift, or recipient; cf. P 264.

ecause trances give a kind of superhuman bliss, a Bodhisattva might be tempted into seeking them from spiritual voluptuousness. 339 The trances correspond to a number of heavens (see: Numer

practise trance apermits,heaven. To avail himself of this possibility would for a Bodhisattva mean idle

166

I 7h. THE R

It is thus that a

ten directions utter a shout of triumph, proclaim his praise,

ounce his name, and make the pronouncement that “in this world system that Bodhisattva, that great being is armed with the great armour!” And he matures beings and purifies the Buddha-field. (P180) I 8. The Progress in Setting Out. (5. Set out in the great vehicle.) Sariputra : Through how much does the Bodhisattva become one who has set out in the great vehicle, one who has mounted on the great vehicle? I 8,1. THE ENTERING ON AND EMERGIN FROM THE TRANCES AND FORMLESS ATTAINMENTS.340 Purna : Here, coursing in the perfection of giving, a Bodhisattva dwells detached from sense desires, detached from evil and unwholesome

is with thoughts adjueof rapture and ease. And so for all the

four trances, and for the four formless attainments. These are a Bodhisattva’s trances and formless attainments. When a Bodhisattva courses in the perfection of giving through these trances and formless attainments, enters into and emerges from them, through the modes, characteristics and signs of space makes these wholesome roots common to all beings, and dedicates them to full enlightenment – then this is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of giving. Similarly he acts with regard to the perfections of morality, patience, vigour, and concentration. Moreover, a Bodhisattva, coursing in the perfection of wisdom, enters into th

and attainments in the perfection of wisdom, and, while ente

into and emerging from them attends to the modes, characteristics

and signs of space, and, coursing in the perfection of wisdom, 340 according to H, the Bodhisattva must at this stage first gain some proficiency in transic meditation so that his mind may be b

167

makes these, and other, wholesome roots com

ugh attentions connected with the knowledge of all modes, and dedicates them to full enlightenment – then this is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of wisdom. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in the six perfections, is called “one who has set out in the great vehicle”. I 8,2. THE SIX PERFECTIO

with his attention centred on the kn

“for the sake of the demolition of th

his untarnished perfection of morality if, with his attention centred on the knowledge of all modes, he enters into the trances, and, firmly grounded in them, does not give an opportunity (P181) to other production

Pratyekabuddhas. When it occurs to a Bodhisattva who, with his attention centred on the knowledge of all modes, dwells in the tranc

es and formless attainments, that “for the purpose of the extinction of the defilements of all beings will I demonstrate Dharma”, then the enduring of those attentions, the willingness to find pleasure in them, to test and understand them, and to meditate on them, that is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of patience. It is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of vigour that, through his attentions connected with the knowledge of all modes, he dedicates all wholesome roots to full enlightenment, and never relaxes his vigour. It is his perfection of concentration that, through his attentions connected with the knowledge of all modes, that, through his attentions connected with the knowledge of all modes, he enters into the trances and formless attainments, and yet does not apprehend them. It is his perfection of wisdom that he contemplates the limbs of the trances under the aspects of impermanent, ill, not-self, etc., to: wish-less, and yet does not apprehend them. This is the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being. I 8,3. THE PATH. ehicle of the Bodhisattva that, in

341 so S; P says that he demonstrates “Dharma”. 168

all their modes, he develops the dharmas which are the 37 wings of enlightenment, the concentrations which are the doors to freedom – Emptiness, the Sign-less, the Wish-less – the (ten) powers, the grounds of self-confidence, and the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha.

Furthermore, a Bodhisat

friendliness – a thought that is vast, extensive, non-dual, unlimited, free from hostility, rivalry, hindrance, or injury to anyone, extends everywhere and is well cultivated; he radiates friendliness in the ten directions of the world which has as its highest (development) the Dharma-element, and the space-element as its terminus. And so with compassion, sympathetic joy, and impartiality. These are called the four Unlimited of the Bodhisattva, the great being. (P182) A Bodhisattva enters the concentration on friendliness, and strives to save all beings. He enters the concentration on compassion, and directs pity and compassion towards beings. He enters the concentration on sympathetic joy, and resolves to make beings rejoice.342 He enters the concentration on impartiality, and “extends”343 to beings the extinction of the outflows. This is the perfection of giving of the Bodhisattva who courses in the Unlimited. When a Bodhisattva enters into the modes, characteristics and signs of the trances and Unlimited, and emerges from them, and yet does not dedicate (the resulting merit) to the level of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha, but to nothing else than the knowledge of all modes – then this is the untarnished perfection of morality of the Bodhisattva who courses in the Unlimited. When he dwells in those trances, Unlimited, and formless attainments free from contamination, and does not long for the two levels of a Disciple or Pratyekabuddha, but just the knowledge of all modes seems good to him and pleases him – then this is the perfection of patience of the Bodhisattva who courses in the Unlimited. If, through the production of thoughts associated with the knowledge of all modes, he dwells as one who perseveres

rejoicings”, or “I wi(sam

adhayisyami) and in S-tib. (which read mocayishyami), the text is corrupt. irnamayati, rab-tu gshol-bar byed de. At P 7 it meant “put out” in connection

or that “he bends, or inclines, his thoughts to them

169

in forsaking unwholesome and in accomplishing wholesome dharmas – then this is the perfection of vigour of the Bodhisattva who courses in the Unlimited. If, although he enters into those trances, Unlimited, and formless attainments, he does not gain his rebirths throu

who courses in the Unlimite

knowledge of all modes, he enters into the trances, Unlimited and formless attainments and emerges from them, and contemplates them under the aspects of impermanence, ill, not-self, of quietude, emptiness, sign-less-ness and wish-less-ness, but does not go forward to the way of salvation of the Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas – then this is the perfection of wisdom of a Bodhisattva who courses in the Unlimited. This is the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being. I 8,5. ABSENCE OF DEVOTION TO A BASIS.344 Furthermore, also this is the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being: The cognition of the 18 kinds of emptiness, without taking them as basic facts. That, since his thought is undisturbed in all dharmas, his cognition is concentrated.345 That his cognition does not proceed through “this is permanent”, “this is impermanent”, “this is ill”, etc. to: “this is wish-less”. That his cognition does not proceed in the past, future, or present period; in fact his cognition does not proceed in the three periods, and takes nothing as a basic fact. That his cognition does not proceed in the world of sense desire, in the world of form, in the formless world; in fact he has no cognition of the triple world, and that because nothing can be apprehended in it. That his cognition does not proceed in worldly or supra-mundane dharmas, in dharmas with or without outflows, in conditioned or unconditioned dharmas; in fact he has cognition of any of these kinds of dharmas, and that because there is nothing to apprehend. This is the great vehicle of 344 H here comments: Thereupon he who acts for the sake of others comes to the

phenomenal world). He accordingly secures access to the state of transic meditation in which he takes no separate entities as a basis. 345 The Sanskrit text of P and of S vii 1328 seems to be corrupt, and I have transla

this sentence tentatively after S-Tib. In view of note10 it may perhaps be better to follow S-Skr, and to translate, :when it makes no distinctions with regard to dharmas” instead of “undisturbed in all dharmas”. 170

the Bodhisattva, the great being. I 8,6. THE THREEFOLD PURITY. (6. Mounted on the great vehicle.) Sariputra : Through how much, Ven. Purna, is a Bodhisattva called “mounted on the great vehicle”. Purna : Here a Bodhisattva, coursing in perfect wisdom, mounts on the perfection of giving. He does not get at the perfection of giving, or a giver, recipient, or gift – because there is nothing to get at. And so with the perfections of morality, patience, vigour, and concentration. Here a Bodhisattva, coursing in perfect wisdom (P184), mounts on the perfection of wisdom. He does not get at the perfection of wisdom, or a Bodhis

because ther

I 8,7. THE PROGRAM Furthermore, a Bodhisattva is called “mounted on the great vehicle” if, through an unmixed production of the thought of the knowledge of all modes, he develops the 37 wings of enlightenment, etc. to: the 18 special Buddha-dharmas, with a development in the sense of annihilation346 and that because there is nothing that can be got at. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva is called “mounted on the great vehicle” if he perceives that “Bodhi-being” is a mere conventional expression, since no being can be apprehended. In the same way also all dharmas, from form to the Buddha, are mere words, because the reality corresponding to them cannot apprehended. I 8,8. THE SIX SUPER-KNOWLEDGES. Furthermore, during the entire period from the first thought of enlightenment up to full enlightenment (P185) he matures beings

perfected his super-knowledges. In all Buddha-fields he treats the Buddhas, the Lords with respect, honours, reveres, and worships

346 bhavana-vibhavana-arthena. This rather mysterious phrase occurs frequently in the later parts of the Sutra. It may mean that “development”, like everything else, is as much its opposite as it is itself, and that therefore it must be taken to mean an “un-development”. “In the sense that he annihilates

171

them. Owing to his suitable wors

i.e. this great vehicle. Having

Buddha-fields, and matures beings.either of a Buield or

of non-duality, he acquires at will a personality which enables him to work for the welfare of beings. And, until he reaches the know

ledge of all modes, he is never again lacking in this great vehicle. I 8,9. THE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL MODES. After he has reached the knowledge of all modes, he turns the wheel of Dharma, which cannot be turned by all the disciples and Pratyekabuddhas, in the world with its gods, Nagas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras, Mahoragas, and men. In each of the ten directions, in world sy

of the Ganges, the Bthe

praise, and reveal the glory of him who has known full enlightenment and they say of him that “in this world system that Bodhisattva, after mounting on the great vehicle, has reached the knowledge of all modes and thereafter turned the wheel of Dharma”. It is thus that a Bodhisattva is called “mounted on the great vehicle”.

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CHAPTER 14 NEITHER BOUND NOR FREED I 9. The Equipment.

Emancipation a mock show.) Subhuti : Because he is “armed with a great armour” a Bodhisattva is called a “great being”. Armed with how much of an armour can he be called “armed with the great armour”? The Lord : He is armed with the great vehicle, the six perfections, the applications of mindfulness, etc. to: the knowledge of all modes. (P186) Armed with a Buddha-frame,347 he radiates light over the great trichiliocosm and shakes it in six ways. In all infernal becomings he extinguishes the (great) mass of fire, appeases the sufferings of beings in the hells, and places348 all of them face to fa

173

hells, from that animal world, from that world of Yama, and would

be reborn among gods then that magician, or

magician’s apprentice, ha s emerge from the hells,

from the animal world, from the world of Yama?

Subh

The Lor beings in

countless world systems from these three states of woe, no being

at all has been set free. And why? For such is the true nature of

ey are illusory. 349 It is thus that a

Bodhisattva, a great being, who has mounted on the great vehicle,

(P187)

RFECTION OF GIVING.

Furthermore, a Bodhisattva, armed with the great armour,

stan

es away

garm

Bod

and men. Would ve made any beinguti : No, O Lord. d : Even so, after a Bodhisattva has set free

dharmas that in fact th

is called “armed with the great armour”.*

I 9,2. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE PE

ds firm in the perfection of giving. By his magic he conjures up a trichiliocosm made of lapis lazuli, conjures up a display worthy of a Universal Monarch, and gives food to the hungry, giv

ents, vehicles, perfumes, garlands, flowers, incense, ointments, medicinal powders, houses, dwelling places, robes, the necessities of life, medicines, gold, silver, jewels, gems, coral, conch shells, quartz, pearls, etc. He then demonstrates Dharma to those beings, i.e. this very Dharma connected with the six perfections. And, after they have heard this demonstration of Dharma, those beings will never again be lacking in these perfections until they know full enlightenment. It is thus that a Bodhisattva is called “armed with the great armour”. It is just as if a clever magician, or magician’s apprentice, were to conjure up a great crowd of people, and give food to the hungry, and thing upon thing to those in need of it. What do you think, Subhuti, has this magician, or magician’s apprentice given anything to anyone? Subhuti : No, Lord. The Lord : Even so should one understand the actions of the

hisattva who has stood in the perfection of giving. And why? For such is the true nature of dharmas that in fact they are illusory. I 9,3. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE PERFECTION OF MORALITY. 349

grhitva H, S-Tib. ne-bar bzun-na) the fact that illusion is their dharmic nature”. Tib: sgyu-ma’I chos-nid ne-bar bzun na, chos rnams-kyi cho

te. The metaphysical subtleties involved ca

174

Furthermore, a Bodhisattva stands firm in the perfection of morality. Through his acquisition of the power to be reborn at will he is reborn in the family of a Universal Monarch. He then establishes beings in the ten ways of wholesome

es, etc. to: in the eighteen sp

ow full enlightenment, these beings will never again be lacking in this demonstration of Dharma. (P188) Just as if a magician, or magician’s apprentice, had conjured up a great crowd of people and had established them in all these wholesome practices; however many beings he had established in those practices, no being at all would have been estab

true nature of dharmas, that in fact they are illusory.

I 9,4. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE PERFECTION OF PATIENCE. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva stands firm in the perfection of patience. He instigates, exhorts, introduces beings to patience, in the following way: On account of his first production of the thought of enlightenment he puts on the armour thus: “If all beings were to hit me with sticks, clods, fists, or swords, not even one single thought of rage should be produced in me; and also all beings should I introduce to such patience!” Just as if a clever magician, or magician’s apprentice, were to conjure up a great crowd of people: if they all hit him with sticks, clods, fists, or swords, nevertheless, he would produce towards them not even a single thought of rage; and if he were to introduce these magically created beings to such patience, no being at all would have been introduced to it, however many he had introduced to it. The same is true of the Bodhisattva. And why? For such is the true nature of dharmas that in fact they are illusory

. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE PERFECTION OF VIGOUR. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva stands firm in the perfection of vigour. He instigates, exhorts, introduces all beings to the

through attentions connected with the knowledge of a

beings to physical and mental vigour. But all this is though done by a magician with regard to illusory beings, as said before.

175

I 9,

Furthermore, a Bodhisattva stands firm in the perfection of

(P190), a

Bod

a magician with

regard to illusory beings, as said before. Furthermore, a

ought

cen

I 9,9. THE EQUIPMENT WITH INSIGHT.

6. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE PERFECTION OF MEDITATION. Furthermore, a Bodhisattva stands firm in the perfection of concentration. Here a Bodhisattva, having stood in the sameness of all dharmas, does not review the disturbance or non-disturbance of any dharma. It is thus that a Bodhisattva becomes one standing in the perfection of concentration. And he likewise instigates, exhorts and introduces all beings to the perfection of concentration, with the result that never until the time that they know full enlightenment will they ever again lack in the perfection of concentration. But all this is as though done by a magician with regard to illusory beings, as said before. I 9,7. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM.

wisdom. When he courses in the perfection of wisdom

hisattva does not get at the Not-Beyond or at the Beyond of any dharma whatsoever. It is then that he is one who stands firm in perfect wisdom, and he likewise instigates, exhorts, and introduces all beings thereto. But all this is as though done by a magician with regard to illusory beings, as said before. I 9,8. THE EQUIPMENT WITH QUIETUDE. Furthermore, as a Bodhisattva, armed with the great armour, has himself stood in the six perfections, so he instigates, exhorts, and introduces to them as many beings as there are in each one of the ten directions in world systems numerous as the sands of the Ganges. He demonstrates Dharma to them, i.e. this Dharma connected with the six perfections, and they will never again be deprived of the six perfections until the time that they know full enlightenment. But all this is as though done by

Bodhisattva, armed with the great armour, dwells with his th

tred on the knowledge of all modes. He gives no room to other productions of thought, like “only so many beings should I establish in the perfections, in the wings of enlightenment, the Buddha-dharmas, the fruits of the Path, Pratyekabuddha-hood, or all-knowledge”. But on the contrary he resolves to establish countless beings in those practices and their fruits. (P191)

176

But all this is as though done by a magician with r

ory beings, as said before.* And why? For such is the true nature of dharmas that in fact they are illusory. Subhuti : As I understand the meaning of the Lord’s teaching, as certainly not armed with an armour should this Bodhisattva, the great being, be known, on account of the emptiness of own-marks. And why? Because there form is empty of form, and so for all dharmas up to the Buddha-dharmas. The Bodhisattva is empty of the Bodhisattva and the armour of the great vehicle is also empty of the armour of the great vehicle. By this method should a Bodhisattva be known as not armed with

the knowledge of all modes is not made or unmade,

effected.350 Those beings also, for the sake of whom a Bodhisattva is armed with the great armour, are not made or unmade, but are in fact un-effected.* Subhuti : For what reason is that so? The Lord : On account of the impossibility of apprehending a maker. For form, etc., does not make, nor unmake, nor effect (anything). Because absolutely all these dharm

person, personality, etc. to: one whorefl

ection of the moon in water, a reflected image, a mirage, and an apparition; of the eighteen kinds of emptiness, the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas, of Suchness, etc., and of the knowledge of all modes. It is for this reason that the knowledge of all modes is not made or unmade, but in fact unaffected; and so are those (beings) for whose sake a Bodhisattva is armed with the great armour. It is thus that a Bodhisattva is called “armed with the great armour”. I 9,10. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE COMBINATION OF INSIGHT AND QUIETUDE. *Subhuti : As I understand the meaning of the Lord’s teaching, form etc., is neither bound nor freed. Purna : You say, Subhuti, that form, etc., is neither bound nor 350 “not made”, because there is no maker; “not unmade”, because it canannihilated, since nothing that has not first been made ca

“un-effected”, it thought to bring it about. – cf. S. Augustine:

177

free

neither bound nor

freed

s, worldly or

supr

being is neither bound nor

freed etc. to: the knowledge

of all modes.

all dharmas,

on account of their non-being-ness, (P194) their isolated-ness, etc.

s, the great being’s, armour of the great vehicle, which

is ne

d? Subhuti : So it is Purna. Purna : What then is that form, etc., which is

? Subhuti : That form, etc., which is like a dream, like an echo, a mock show, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, an apparition, that is neither bound nor freed. (P193) Even so form, etc., which is past, future, or present, is neither bound nor freed. And why? Because of the non-being-ness of form, etc. Even so form, etc., whether it be wholesome or unwholesome, defiled or undefiled, tainted or untainted, with or without outflow

a-mundane, defiled or purified, is neither bound nor freed, on account of its non-being-ness, its isolated-ness, its quiet calm, its emptiness, sign-less-ness, wish-less-ness, because it has not been brought together or produced. And that is true of all dharmas.* It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great

; and neither are the six perfections,

The beings also whom he will lead to Nirvana are neither bound nor freed; and neither are the Buddha-fields which he will purify, the Buddhas, the Lords whom he will honour, the Dharma which he will hear, and the fact that he will never again be deprived of the Buddhas, the Lords, or of the super-knowledges, the five Eyes, etc. – also that is neither bound nor freed. Neither bound nor freed, he will produce a knowledge of the modes of the Path which is neither bound nor freed, he will understand a knowledge of all modes which is neither bound nor freed, he will turn a wheel of Dharma which is neither bound nor freed, and he will, through the three vehicles, lead to Nirvana beings who are neither bound nor freed. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, neither bound nor feed by the six perfections, will fully know

to: their un-produced-ness. It is thus that one should know the Bodhisattva’

ither bound nor freed.

178

CH

APTER 15

THE CONCENTRATIONS I 9,11. THE EQUIPMENT WITH SKILL IN MEANS. III The meaning of “great vehicle”. 1. Its constituents. *Subhuti : What is the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being? How should a Bodhisattva be known as one who has set out in the great vehicle? Wherefrom will that vehicle go forth? Where will it come to a halt? Who will go forth by means of that great vehicle?* The Lord : With regard to what you say, “what is the great vehicle of a Bodhisattva?” The six perfections are the great vehicle of a Bodhisattva. Subhuti : What are a Bodhisattva’s six perfections? The Lord : A Bodhisattva’s perfection of giving consists in that, with productions of thought associated with the knowledge of all modes, he gives a gift, i.e. inward and outward things, makes these common to all beings and dedicates them to full enlightenment; and he instigates others also to do likewise; but always without basing himself on anything. The untarnished perfection of morality of a Bodhisattva consists that351 he himself undertakes to observe the ten ways of wholesome action in instigates others also thereto, but without basing himself on anything; his perfection of patience in that he himself becomes on who has achieved patience and also instigates others thereto, but without basing himself on anything (P195); his perfection of vigour in that he dwells persistently in the five perfec

179

anything. His perfection of wisdom consists in that he does not

settle down in any dharm e essential nature of all

dharmas, also instigates e contemplation of all

dharmas, but never bases himself on anything. This, Subhuti, is

the great vehi

I 9,12. THE EQUIPMENT WITH COGNITION.352

Moreover, Subhuti, the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the

subject, etc. to: the

emptiness of other-being.

on the

subject-side are eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Therein

the

forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch objects, and

mind

re. And so for sounds, etc. to: mind-objects.

3 ? The six

subj

a, contemplates th other beings to thcle of a Bodhisattva, a great being.

great being, that is the emptiness of the

1. What is the emptiness of the subject? Dharmas

eye is empty of the eye, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. And why? Because such is its essential nature. And so for the ear, etc. to: mind. 2. What is the emptiness of the object? Dharmas on the object-side are

objects. Therein form is empty of form, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. And why? Because such is its essential natu

. What is the emptiness of both subject and object

ective sense fields and the six objective sense fields, these are the inward (=subjective) and outward (=objective) dharmas.353 How are the subjective empty of the objective dharmas? Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are empty of forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch objects and mind objects. (P196) How are the objective empty of the subjective dharmas? Forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch objects and mind objects are empty of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, on account of their being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is their essential nature. 4. What is emptiness of emptiness? The emptiness of all dharmas is empty of that emptiness,354 on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. 352 For this extremely difficult and important section of the Sutra I have added a number of notes from AAA 95-96, Ob. 126 sq., and Mahayanasamgraha (=M-s) ch. 5.1 and its commentary. 353 The translation follows Ad and Da. In this interpretation no. 3 is similar to no. 15 of Pts, the visabhaga-sunna, according to which “the six inner sense fields are

4 Because it is merely the cognition of the emptiness of all dharmas. – Pras. XII: Emptiness is not a property, or

180

5. What is the great emptiness? The Eastern direction is empty of the Eastern direction, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. And so for the other nine directions.355 6. What is the emptiness of ultimate realit

on account of its being neither unmoved n

s essential nature. 7. What is conditioned emptiness? “Conditioned” means the world of sense desire, th

Th

erein the world of sense desire is empty of the world of sense desire, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. And so for the other two worlds. 8. What is unconditioned emptiness? “Unconditioned” means that of which there is not produc

st

ability, no alteration.357 The Unconditioned is empty of the Unconditioned,358 on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. 9. What is infinite emptiness? That of which no end is got at, that infinite is empty of the infinite,359 on account of its being

ne

ither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. substratum would be non-empty, and one would have a fixed conviction (drsti) about it. In fact it is a mere medicine, a means of escape from all fixed convictions. It is taught so that we may overcome attachment, and it would be a pity if we were to become attached to it. It is not a positive standpoint, but a mere turning away from all views and thought constructions. To treat it as an object, and to oppose it to emptiness, is to miss the point. 355 This refers to the Absolute, or Dharmadhatu, as all-pervading. No limitations, like “eastern”, “western”, etc., are admissible for it, but it is omnipresent, since no dharma is not anatman. 356 No objective entity “Nirvana” exists as such. Nirvana is in fact nothing b

me

re disconnection from all phenomenal elements. cf. A.K. I 6. – Nirvana is parama-artha, both as the ultimate reality and as the supreme goal. 357 So P and Ad, anyathatva. S: sthiter anyathatva, “alteration of its stability, or subsistence”. The difference reflects the uncertainties of the Abhidharma tradition

.N. i p, 152) speaks of sthity-anyathatva; some authorities interpret this as “the difference between preceding and succeeding moments”; others as “decay”. See P. S. Jaini in BSOAS. xxii. 19

8 The Un-produced, etc., has no correlation with the produced, etc., which is a mere sign and concept. – Here the Dharma-element is considered as “un-seizable”; one cannot conceive of it as one’s own, cannot imprison it, and when one has attained it one cannot say “it is min3

59 Ad; “That dharma of which absolutely (atyantato) no production can be apprehended. And why? Because such is its essential original nature”. – H “End” 181

10

. What is the emptiness without beginning or end?360 That of which no beginning or end is got at, of that the middle is non-existent. And that of which neither beginning nor middle nor end is got at, of that there is

mi

ddle, and end are also empty of beginning, middle, and end, on account of their being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is their essential nature. 11. What is the e

dh

arma there is no repudiation. “Repudiation” means (P197) casting off, spurning, letting go. The non-repudiation is empty of the non-repudiation,362 on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. 12. What is the emptiness of essential nature? The essential

(o

riginal) nature of all dharmas, be they conditioned or unconditioned, is not made by the Disciples, or by the Pratyekabuddhas, or by the Tathagatas,363 nor is it removed by them.13 The essential nature is empty of the essential nature, on account of its being neither unmoved nor de

it

s essential nature. 13. What is the emptiness of all dharmas? All dharmas means the five skandhas, the twelve sense fields, the six kinds of

conditioned by contact. Conditioned and unconditioned dharmas, (limit, anta) means “portioned out”. Now between the limits of eternity and annihilation (regarded as two portions) there exists absolutely nothing by which could be established an own-being

spective portions (Obermiller : which could draw a boundary between them, and thus make them appear as having each its separate essence) – aty-anta, “infinite”, “beyond end”, “beyond lim

0 an-avara-agra, Pali anantamagga, is normally used for Samsara. Nos. 10 and 11 belong together, in that 10 refers to birth-death, and 11 to Nirvana. – “A first beginning of suffering, i.e. of beings blinded by ignorance and cravin

nceived” (Divy. 197); there is no first and no last (Pras. xi). 361 Anavakara P, S: apratikara Ad., which has only: “wherein there is no rejection of any dharma”. The term “casting off” (vikiranam) occurs in the traditional formula of Arhat-ship. The dharma which is not repudiated is Nirvana, because in regard to it absolutely nothing needs removing. 362 H: Non-repudiation must be understo

epudiation” as defined in the Sutra. “Casting off” etc. are not real entities, because they are essentially non-activities, and therefore also the non-repudiation is no more than a sign and concept. 363 So P, but not so S. In no. 12 the

etween prakriti (essential nature), samskrta (conditioned), asamskrta (unconditioned) and akrta (not made).

182

the

se are called “all-dharmas”. Therein all dharmas are empty of all-dharmas, on account of their being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is their essential nature. 14. What is the emptiness of own-marks? To be easily broken is the mark of form, experiencing that of feeling, taking up that of perception, together-making that of the formative forces, being aware that of conscious364

the

skandhas, resemblance to a venomous snake that of the elements, acting as a door of coming into being that of the sense fields; possessing the full complement of conditions that of conditioned co-production; renunciation that of the perfection of giving, celibacy that of the perfection of moralit

tha

t of the perfection of patience, un-crushability that of the perfection of vigour, comprehension that of the perfection of concentration, non-attachment that of the perfection of wisdom; un-shakability is the mark of the four trances, the four Unlimited, the four formless attainments; leading forth that of the thirty seven wings of enlightenment, detachment that of emptiness as a door to deliverance, quiet cal

rem

oval of suffering that of the wish-less as a door to deliverance; delivering that of the deliverances, to be well massed that of the powers, to be well established that of the grounds of self-confidence, to be indestructible that of the analytical

friendliness, protection that of the great compassion, rejoicing that of the great sympathetic joy, non-commingling that of the great impartiality, to be something to which no one else has a claim is that of the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas, and to be “before the eye” is the mark of the cognition of the knowledge of all modes.) W

hatever the mark of conditioned or of the unconditioned dharmas, all these dharmas are empty of their own-marks, on account of their being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is their essential nature.

15. What is unascertainable emptiness? Those dharmas which are past, future, and present, are not got at. And why? In a past (dharma) the future (dharmas)

cannot be got at: nor in a future the past; nor in a present (dharma) can the past and future (dharmas) be got at: nor in the past and future (dharmas) the

364 P adds here: this should be worked out indetail”. The following passage in brackets is from S corrected after Gilgit

183

present ones. The unascertainable emptiness is the non-apprehension of these, because they are pure from the very beginning, on account of their being neit

des

troyed. For such is their essential nature. 16. What is the emptiness of the non-existence of own-being? There is no own-being of a dharma (acting) in causal connection, because of conditioned co-production.365 The (causal) connection is empty of the (causal) connection, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. 17. What is the emptiness of existence? “Existence” means the five grasping skandhas. And that existence is empty of existence,366 on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. 18. What is the emptiness of non-existence? “Non-existence” means the Unconditioned. And that Unconditioned is empty of that Unconditioned,367 on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. 19. What is the emptiness of own-being? Because own-being is the un-perverted-ness of essential nature, that is empty of this, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. And it is not made by cognition and vision.368 And why? Because this is its essential nature. 365 Indeed it has been said, what is a positive existent beyond, or apart from, the full complement of its causes and conditions? Functional interdependence makes it impossible for anything to have an independent existence. On analysis anything and everything is nothing more than a bundle of conditions, and the formula “this being, that is” binds it up inextricably with many factors outside itself. 366 A “skandha” means a “group, heap, assemblage, conglomeration”. But a conglomeration is not a real entity by itself, and can therefore not act as the basis for an existence which bears the mark of grasping. 367 It is a non-ens, devoid of an essence of its own. Its existence is merely nominal, because it is nothing but the negation of separate entities, which (usually) obstruct and cover it. 368

The

own-being which is understood as emptiness exists from the outset and is not the product of the perfection of wisdom, which is the same as the cognition and vision of the Saints. The knowledge and intuition of the Saints only illuminate the ultimately real principle of non-substantiality, but does not produce it. Considered as a fact it is therefore empty of itself. – Pras. vi 23: “The Buddhas teach that all dharmas, whether inward or outward, have a double nature. The one is that which is conventionally assumed, the other is that which ultimately real. The second,

ews of the common people, whose intellectual vision is covered up with the cataract of ignorance”.

184

20. What is the emptiness of other-being?369 This true nature of dharmas, which is established whether Tathagatas are produced or not produced, the established order of dharmas, the fixed sequence of Dharma, Suchness, Not-falseness,

the

Reality Limit;370 the emptiness of this of that, on account of its being neither unmoved nor destroyed. For such is its essential nature. Nor is it made by something else.371 And why? Because this is its essential nature. This is called the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, th

bei

ng. I 9,13. THE EQUIPMENT WITH MERIT.372 Moreover, Subhuti, the great vehicle of

gre

at being, i.e. the concentration called “Heroic Valour”, etc. to: the concentration called “Like Space, unshackled, free, and untainted”. 1. The concentration called “Heroic V

con

centration the range of all the concentrations is experienced. 2. The Jewel Seal: Through that concentration all concentrations are sealed. 3. The Lion’s Play: As a result of having stood firm in this concentration, one can play with all the concentrations. 4. The Beautiful Moon: As a result of having stood

s a Glorious Ensign: This concentration carried the Ensign of all concentrations (as a token of victory). 6. Exaltation above All Dharmas: As a result of having stood in this concentration one is elevated above all concentrations.

369 para-bhava. That which is produced by o

lation to another. Pras. 260: “Any own-being in relation to another is called ‘other-being’”. Warmth, for instance, as the own-being of fire, is “other-being” with reference to fluidity, w37

0 This formula also occurs in A.N. i 285 and very frequently elsewhere. See MCB v 207. The “true nature” (dharmata) of dharmas is the same as conditioned co-production, which operates quite irrespective of the appearance of non-appearance of the Tathagatas who alone are capable of discovering.; 371 Indeed it ahs been said: Human effort that is directed upon Emptiness will have for its result only useless toil. 372 The translation of this section is purely speculative. I have failed to understand a large number of the technical terms employed here, and just mechanically followed the dictionaries. S.P. and Ad often differ, and I have generally followed P, without, however, marking the occasions where I have adopted the reading of Ad or

185

(P1

99) 7. Surveying the summits:373 one surveys the Summits of all concentrations. 8. Fixed on the Element of Dharma: one moves towards certainty in one’s understanding of the Dharma-element. 9. The Glorious Ensign of Certainty: one carries the Ensign (which indicates) certainty about all concentrations. 10. Like a Thunderbolt:374 one is not broken by any concentration. 11. Seal of Entran

rs into the Seal of (all) dharmas. 12. The Well-established King o

of Rays: one emits the Rays of all co

er: one bring about the array of the power of all concentrations. 15. Arisen: To one who has stood in this concentration all concentrations rise up together. 16. The Definite Entrance into the (Expositi

th

e language of all concentrations. 17. Entrance into all Synonyms: one can enter into the designations and synonyms of all concentrations. 18. Surveying the Directions: one surveys the Directions of all concentrations. 19. Carrying the Seal: one carries the seals of all concentrations. 20. Unimpaired: one does not impair any of the concentrations. 21. The Seal of the Ocean of the Meeting of all Dharmas: as a result of his having stood inthis concentration all his concentrations assemble and meet.

ir

radiates all concentrations with a radiation like that of ether. 23. Sharp: one kindles all concentrations with flaming glory. 24.

luminates without covering. 26. Extermination of the Proceeding of all Dharmas: it exterminates the proceeding of all Dharmas. (P200) 27. Forsaking Impurity: one forsakes all signs, how much more so the signs of the d

efilements. 28. Like the Shining Sun: one illuminates all concentrations, warms them, shines upon them. 29. Desire-less-ness: one does not desire any dharma appertaining to the concentrations.

30. Utterly Homeless: one reviews in no concentration a

373 The explanation of nearly every item is from now on prefaced by the formula “as a result of having stood in this concentration”, which I have omitted in the translation. 374 Adamantine.

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dharma which is at home there. 31. Free from Thought: in that concentration no thought proceeds, and none of its concomitants. 32. Immaculate Lamp: it acts as an immaculate lamp for all concentrations. 33. Infinite Splendour: it brings about an infinite splendour. 34. Light-bringer: it throws light on all concentrations.

centration has been acquired, all concentration-doors are illuminated. 36. Pure Core: one reaches the pure sameness of all concentrations. 37. Immaculate Splendour: one removes the stains from all concentrations and give them a brilliant appearance. 38. Giving Delight: one experiences the delight of all concentrations. 39. Lightning Flash: all concentrations are set ablaze. 40. Inextinguishable: one reviews of all concentration neither the extinction nor the non-extinction. 41. Diamond Circle: one carries the Circles of all concentrations. 42. Extinction Left Behind: one reviews the non-extinction of all concentrations, and views them in such a way that one reviews not even the least dharma. 43. Immovable: one does not waver or vacillate in any of the concentrations, nor does not mind them, or have idle fancies about them. 44. It Cannot be Overturned: one does not review the overturning of any concentration.

inates all concentration-doors. 46. Immaculate Moon: one disperses the darkness in all concentrations. 47. Bright Appearance: one acquires the four analytical knowledges with regard to all concentrations. (P201) 48. Illuminator: one throws light on all concentration-doors. 49. Mode of the Doer: one brings about the work and performance of all concentrations. 50. The Ensign of Cognition: one reviews the Ensign of the cognition of all concentrations. 51. Like a Thunderbolt: one penetrates all dharmas, and yet does not review that concentration. 52. Stability of Thought: one’s thought does not waver, is not diverted or terrified; it never fails, but one remains unaware that “(this is) thought”. 53. Illumination All-round: one reviews in all concentrations the all-round illumination. 54. Well Established: one becomes well established in all concentrations. 55. Jewel Cusp: all concentrations appear bright all round,

Seal of the Best Dharma: it results in that all concentrations

ery beginning. 57. The Sameness of All Dharmas: one does not review any dharma as sundered from sameness. 58. Forsaking D

elight: one forsa

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all dharmas. 59. The Fullness of Ascent to All Dharmas: elevated above all dharmas one is nevertheless saturated with them. 60. Dispersing: one disperses and tears asunder all dharmas through all concentrations. 61. Cleaving the Verbal Expressions of All Dharmas: one cleaves the verbal expressions for all concentrations and dharmas. 62. Identifying the Letter: one understands the fact that all concentrations have the same letter. 63. All Letters Left Behind: one does not even get at one single letter for all concentrations. 64. All Letters Left Behind: one does not even get at one single letter for all concentrations. 64. Cutting off the Objective Support: the objective support of all concentrations is cut off. 65. Without Modification: one does not apprehend the alteration of any dharma. 66. Modeless: one does not apprehend even the specific constitution of any dharma. 67. Non-entrance into Name and Sign: one does not apprehend the name and sign of any concentration. 68. Wandering Without a Home: one does not get a home in any concentration. 69. All Darkness Left Behind: one removes all darkness from all the concentrations. 70. Possessing a Manner of Acting: one reviews the manner of acting of all concentrations. 71. Unshakable: one reviews all concentrations as unshakable. (P202) 72. Surpassing the Sphere: one transcends the sphere of all concentrations. 73. The Accumulation of All Qualities Takes Place: In this concentration one reaches the accumulation of all the qualities of all dharmas and of all concentrations. 74: The Stability of No-Thought: with regard to all concentrations one’s thought does not proceed. 75.

etly Blooming Purity: one acquires the sweetly blooming purity of all concentrations. 76. In Possessions of the Limbs of Enlightenment: one acquires, through all concentrations, the seven limbs of enlightenment. 77. Infinite Inspiration: one acquires in all concentrations a state of infinite inspiration. 78. Equal to the Unequalled: one acquires, through all concentrations, the state where one is equal to the unequalled. 79. Transcending All Dharmas: one transcends everything in the triple world. 80. Accurate Definer: one can delimitate all dharmas and concentrations. 81. Uncertainty: one reaches the dispersal of all uncertainty about all concentrations. 82. All Stability Stopped: one does not review the abiding of any dharma. 83. One Single Harmony: one does not review the duality of any dharma. 84. Consummation of the Modes: one does not review the

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consummation of the modes of all concentrations and dharmas. 85. One Single Mode: one reviews the single mode

ations. 86. Non-repudiation of the Modes: one reviews (not) the non-duality of all dharmas. 87. The Penetration which Disperses the Base of All Becoming: one reaches the penetrating cognition of all concentrations; when that has been reached, there is no dharma that has not been pierced. 88. Entrance into the Meaning of Voices and Sounds: one enters into the meaning of the voices and sounds of all concentrations as freed from the letters which constitute speech. 90. Flaming Torch: With its Splendour it illuminates all concentrations, warms them, shines upon them. 91. Purification of Marks: the marks of all concentrations are purified. 92. Undistinguished: one reviews all concentrations as undistinguished. 93. Furnished with the Best of all Modes: To one who has stood in this concentration all concentrations are furnished with the best of all modes. 94. Not Rejoicing in All Ease or Ill: in all concentrations one does not review the ease or the ill. (P203) 95. Bringing About N

ll concentrations. 96. Wise Knowledge of Dharanis: it results in that one can bear in mind all the Dharanis. 97. Complete Removal of Rightness and Wrongness: one does not review the rightness and wrongness of all concentrations. 98. Appeasing All Obstruction and Stopping: one does not review the obstruction or stopping of all concentrations. 99. Compliance and Opposition: one does not review the compliance and opposition of all concentrations. 100. Immaculate Glory: one does not get at the glorious circle of all concentrations. 101. Possessing a Core: one does not review the substantiality of all concentrations. 102. The Stainless Full Moon: in this concentration all his concentrations are fully realized, just like the full moon. 103. Great Harmony: all his concentrations are endowed with great harmony. 104. Light Bringer in Every Way: it throws light on all concentrations and on all dharmas. 105. Concentration-sameness: in all conc

apprehends neither distraught-ness nor one-pointed-ness. 106. Assemblage of all Peace and Refuge: to one who has stood in this concentration, no concentration can cause strife. 107. Pleased with Being Independent of a Home: in this concentration one does not approach a settling place for all concentrations. 108. Stability of No-thought in Suchness: in this concentration one does 189

not depart form the Suchness of all concentrations. 109. Crushing the Misery of having a Body: it results in that one does not get a body for all concentrations. 110. Removing the Misery of Speech: it results in that one does not get at the speech-action of all concentrations. 111. Fashioned like the Firmament: it illuminates like the firmament. 112. Like Space, Unshackled, Free and Untainted: here one reaches the state where all dharmas are, like space, unshackled, free and untainted. This is the great veh

courses in the perfection of wisdom.

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CHAPTER 16

ENTRANCE INTO THE DHARANI-DOORS I 9,4. THE EQUIPMEN375

And further, Subhuti, the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being:

191

inhalation (P205) or a long exhalation, a short inhalation, or a short

exhalation. Just as a p pprentice, would whirl

round a wheel, and, whe irl, he would know, as it

really is “I make a long whirl”; and so also when he makes a short

w

non-appr

(I. Ad) Further, a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom,

contemplates this very body according to its elements as it really is:

earth, water, fire, and air.

Jus

ith a sharp knife, cuts it into four quarters, and then

exa

, a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom,

con

mu

ull of all

sort

. And that through

non

angled. And thus he compares his own body:

“This body al

nights dead and seven nights dead, being devoured by crows,

e wolves, dogs, or various other

otter, or potter’s an making a long whhirl. So also the Bodhisattva. And that throughehension.

there is, in this body, the element of

t as a skilful cows’ butcher, or cows’ butcher’s apprentice, having killed a cow w

mines it, as he stands or sits. Just so the Bodhisattva with regard to the four elements. And through non-apprehension. (I. Ae) Further

templates this very body as it really is, from the sole of the foot upwards, and form the top of the hair downwards, bounded by nails, down, and skin, and filled with manifold impurities. There are in this body: Hairs of the head, hairs of the body, nails, teeth, skin, hide, flesh, tendons, blood, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, serous membranes, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, stomach, urine, excrement, tears, grease, sweat, spittle, snot, pus, bile,

cus, lymph, fluid of the joints, dirt, brain, oozings of the eye, oozings of the ear. Just as a husbandman has a sack f

s of grain – sesamum, mustard seed, kidney beans, beans lentils, barley, wheat, rice, husked rice – and a man with eyes (P206) examining them, would know, “This is rice of such a sort, this is sesamum, these are the mustard seeds, etc.” Just so the Bodhisattva with regard to the parts of the body

-apprehension. (I. B) And how does the Bodhisattva dwell with regard to the outer body? (I) When he goes to the burial ground, a Bodhisattva sees all sorts of dead bodies thrown in the burial ground, flung in the charnel-field – one day dead, two days dead, or three days dead, or four days dead, or five days dead – swollen, dark blue, festering, eaten by worms, or m

so is of such a dharmic nature, of such an own-being, and it has not gone beyond this state of affairs”. (II) And so he reflects when he sees dead bodies cast into the burial ground, six

agles, and vultures, by jackals,

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kinds of animals; or (III) when he sees those dead bodies flung in the burial ground, mauled, repulsive, foul, and stinking; or (IV) when he sees in the charnel field a chain of bones, smeared with flesh and blood, joined together by tendons; (V) or when he sees those dead bodies, a mere chain of bones, with flesh, blood and tendons all gone (P2

in of bones, separated, not joined together, disjoined, like shells scattered anyhow on the ground; or (VII) when he sees in the charnel field bones scattered in all directions, i.e. here foot bones, there shin bones, there thigh bones, there a hip and pelvis, there the bones of the spine, there the ribs, there the neck bones, there the arm bones, there the skull; or (VIII) when he sees in the charnel field bones, several years old, several hundred years old,

d up by the wind and sunshine, white like conch shells; or (IX) when he sees in the charnel field bones, dark-coloured, black-blue, grey like pigeons, rotten, powdered into the likeness of dust upon the ground, he compares his own body, and thinks that “this body also is of such a dharmic nature, of such an own-being, and it has not got beyond this state of affairs”. (II.) A Bodhisattva dwells with regard to feeling, inward, outward, and both inward and outward, in the contemplation of feelings, ardent, clearly conscious, and mindful, after putting away all worldly covetousness and sadness. And that through non-apprehension. (III.) Likewise a Bodhisattva dwells in the contemplation of thought. (IV.) Likewise a Bodhisattva dwells in the contemplation of dharmas. This also is the

being. 2. An

at being, i.e. the Four Right Efforts. They are: Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, rouses his will, makes an effort, puts forth vigour, makes his thoughts tense, correctly exerts himself, 1. So as to bring about the (future) non-production of evil and unwholesome dharmas, which have not yet been produced; 2. So as to bring about the forsaking of evil and unwholesome dharmas which have been produced; 3. So as to bring about the production of wholesome dharmas which have not yet been produced; 4. So as to bring about the stability, increase, non-disappearance and completion of the wholesome

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dharmas which have been produced. And that through non-apprehension. This also is the great vehicle. 3. And again, the great vehicle: The Four Bases of Psychic Power. They are: 1. Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, develops the basis of psychic power which is endowed with concentration from desire-to-do, together with the formative forces of effort – based upon detachment, dispassion, and cessation, dedicated to self-surrender. And so with 2, 3, 4, where “desire-to-do” is replaced at 2 by “vigour”, at 3 by “thought”, at 4 by “exploration”. And that through non-apprehension. This also is the great vehicle. 4. And again the great vehicle: (P208) The Five Dominants, i.e. Faith, Vigour, Mindfulness, Concentration, and Wisdom. 5. And again the great vehicle: The Five Powers, i.e. Faith, Vigour, Mindfulness, Concentration, and Wisdom. 6. And again the great vehicle: The Seven Limbs of Enlightenment, i.e. Mindfulness, Investigation into Dharma, Vigour, Joyous Zest, Tranquillity, Concentration, and Even-minded-ness. What is mindfulness as a limb o

hisattv, who courses in perfect wisdom, develops the limb of enlightenment that is mindfulness, based upon detachment, dispassion, and cessation, dedicated to self-surrender. And so for the other six. And through non-apprehension. 7. And again

consis

ts of: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Right Livelih

Conce

ntration. What is right View? Here a Bodhisattva, who urses in perfect wisd

, based upon detachment, dispassion, and cessation, dedicated elf-surre

hension. 8. And again the great vehicle: i.e. The Three Concentrations, i.e. the emptiness concentration, the sign-less concentration, the wish-less concentration. What is the emptiness concentration? The stability of through which contemplates all dharmas as empty of own-marks; emptiness as a door to deliverance. And so with the sign-less and wish-less concentration. These three doors to deliverance are the three concentrations. In them one should train. And through non-apprehension. 9. And again, the great vehicle, i.e. The Eleven Cognitions. They are: The cognitions of suffering, origination, stopping, path, of 194

extinction, of non-production, of dharma, the subsequent cognition, the cognition conforming to worldly convention, t

tery,he cognition according to fact.376 (P209) 1. The cognition of suffering the cognition of the non-production of suffering. 2. The cognition of origination is the cognition of the forsaking of origination. 3. The cognition of stopping is the cognition that ill has been stopped. 4. The cognition of the Path is the cognition of the Holy Eight-fold Path. 5. The cognition of extinction is the cognition of the extinction of greed, hate, and delusion. 6. The cognition of non-production is the cognition of the non-production of the

cogion of dharma is the cognition which determines the five skandhas as mere artificial constructs.377 8. The subse

s the cognition that the eye, and the other sense fields, as well as the physical elements and links are imper

on conforming to worldly convention is the cognition by the heart of the hearts of other beings and persons. 10. The cognition of mastery is the cognition of the path. 11. The cognition according to fact is the Tathagata’s cognition of the knowledge of all modes. And that through non-apprehension. 10. And again, the great vehicle, i.e. Three Dominants. They are: 1. The faculty “I shall come to understand the not yet understood”. 2. The faculty of “understan

lty of “one who has fully understood”. 1. The faculty “I shall come to understand the not yet understood” is the virtue of faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom of those persons who are learners and who have not yet completely mastered these virtues, do not entirely manifest hem, and need further disciplining. 2. The faculty of “understanding” is the virtue of faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom of persons who are learners and who h

376 The text of no. 9 has undergone some corruption in the various version of the Prajnaparamita, particularly at no. 7 and no. 9-11. At no. 9 samvrti is attested by S, S-Ti, Ad and Da, and there is no need to change it into paracitta. This cognition can well be called “conventional” because it refers to “beings” who have no more than a convention existence (cf. A.K. VII, 4). The explanation given at no. 10 is that of P. S has “cognition of the antidotes”, and S-Ti “cognition of the path and of purification”. So there is substantial, though not verbal, agreement. At no. 11 several sources have yatharuta, apparently an old misreading of yathabhuta. 377

In Adobably krtrima, to which also the sgyu-mar of S-Ti may correspond, as at S i 119. Sanskrit P and S are both corrupt. The apariksatima of S may have been originally something like pratikrti – “Artificial”, or “counterfeit”; see P 39.

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who has fully understood” is the virtue of faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom of the persons who are adepts – of Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and Tathagatas. – And that through non-apprehension. 11. And again, the great vehicle, i.e. Three Concentrations. They are: 1. The concentration with thought applied and discursive; 2. The concentration without thought applied, and with only thought discursive; 3. The concentration without either thought applied or thought discursive: 1. Is identical with the first trance (see no.13,1). (P210) 2. Is the interval between the first and the second trance. 3. Covers the trances form the second to the attainment of the trance of the cessation of perception and feeling. And that through non-apprehension. 12. And again, the great vehicle, i.e. the Ten Recollections. They are: The recollection of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Community, of morality, renunciation, the gods, of agitation, of death, of that which concerns the body, of breathing. And that through non-apprehension. And again, the great vehicle, i.e. 13. the Four Trances, 14. the Four Unlimited, 15. the Four Formless Attainments, 16. the

erances, and 17. the Nine Attainments of Successive Stations. 13.378 The Four Trances. 1. Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, dwells, detached form sense desires, detached form evil and unwholesome dharmas, in the attainment of the first Trance, which is with thoughts applied, and discursive, born of detachment, full of rapture and ease. 2. Through the appeasement of thoughts applied and discursive, through inward serenity, through the unification of his heart, he dwells in the attainment of the second Trance, which is without thoughts applied and discursive, born of concentration, full of rapture and ease. 3.

s with the body that ease of which the Holy Ones declare: “He that is even-minded and mindful dwells at ease”; and thus he dwells in the attainment of the third Trance. 4. From the forsaking of ease, from the forsaking of ill, and from the previous going to rest of gladness and sadness, he dwells in the attainment of the fourth Trance, which is neither painful nor pleasurable, (but) is utter purity of e

378 The detailed description of 13-17 is omitted in P and added from S. 196

and mindfulness. And that through non-apprehension. 14. The Four Unlimited: 1. Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, dwells with a thought connected with Friendliness, a thought which is va

from hostility, rivalry, hindrance or injury to anyone. He radiates friendliness in the ten directions of the world, which has as its highest development the Dharma-element, and the space element as its terminus. 2. 3. 4. And so similarly with Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Impartiality, - and that through non-apprehension. 15. The Four Formless Attainments: 1. By completely overcoming all perceptions of form, by the going to rest of the perceptions of impact, by not attending to the perceptions of

ifoldness, on thinking “Endless Space”, he dwells in the attainment of the station of endless space. 2. By completely overcoming the station of endless space, on thinking “Infinite Consciousness”, he dwells in the attainment of the station of infinite consciousness. 3. By co

nite consciousness, on thinking that “there is not anything”, he dwells in the attainment of the station of nothing whatever. 4. By completely overcoming the station of Nothing Whatever, he dwells in

ception. And that through non-apprehension. 16. The Eight Deliverance: 1. Having form, he sees form. 2. Not perceiving inward form he sees outward forms. 3. He becomes resolved on emptiness. 4 – 7. are identical with the four formless attainments. 8. Through having in every way overcome the station of neither perception nor non-perception, he dwells in the attainment of the trance of the cessation of perception and feeling. And that through non-apprehension. 17. The Nine Attainments of Successive Stations: They are: 1 – 4, the four trances; 5 – 8, the four formless attainments; 9, the trance of the cessation of perception and feeling. 18. And again, the great vehicle, i.e. the Ten Powers of a Tathagata. They are: Here, Subhuti, a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom, 1. Wisely knows, as it really is, what can be as what can be, and what cannot be as what cannot be. 2. He wisely knows, as they really are, the karmic results of past, future, and present actions and undertakings of actions, as to place and

lements in the world. 4. He wisely knows, as they real

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the various dispositions of other beings and persons.

ely kns, as they really are, the higher and lower faculties of other beings and persons. 6. He wisely knows, as it really is, the Way that leads everywhere. 7. he wisely knows, as they really are, the defilement and purification of all trances, deliverances, concentrations, and meditational attainments, as well as the emergence from them. 8. He recollects his various previous lives. 9. with his heavenly eye he knows the decease and rebirth of beings as it really is. 10. Through the extinction of the outflows, he dwells in the att

dom,ich is without outflows, and which he has, in this very life, well known and realized by himself. He wisely knows that “Birth is exhausted for me; the higher spiritual life has been lived. I have done what had to be done. After this becoming there will be none further”. And all that without any apprehension whatever. (P211) 19. And again the great vehicle, i.e. The Four Grounds of Self-confidence. They are: 1. That I who claim to be fully enlightened am not fully enlightened in those dharmas – I see nothing to indicate that anyone, be he recluse, Brahmin, god, Mara, or Brahma, or anyone else in the whole world, can with justice make this charge. And, as I see nothing to indicate this, I dwell in the attainment of security, of fearlessness, of self-conf

m myxalted place as leader of the herd, rightly roar the lion’s roar in the assembly, and set rolling the sacred wheel which cannot with justice be set rolling by any recluse, Brahmin, god, Mara, or Brahma, or anyone else in the world. 2. That I, who claim to have dried up the outflows, have not completely dried them up, that charge is impossible. I see nothing to indicate, etc. as at. 1. 3. That those dharmas which I have describe a

ve no power to impede him who pursues them, that charge is impossible. I see nothing to indicate, etc. as at 1. 4. That he who progresses on what I have described as th

leadig to going forth, to the right extinction of ill for him whodoes so, should not go forth to the right extinction of ill, that charge is impossible. I see nothing to indicate, etc. as at 1. And all that without any apprehension whatever. 20. And again, the vehicle, i.e. the Four Analytical Knowledges. They are the analytical knowledge of the Meaning, of the Dharma, of Languages, of Inspired Speech. Also they should be practiced without taking anything as a basis.

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21. And again the great vehicle, i.e. the Eighteen Special Dharmas of a Buddha. From the night when the Tathagata knows full enlightenment, to the day when he becomes extinct in Nirvana, during all this time the Tathagata 1. does not trip up,379 2. is not rash or noisy in his speech, 3. is never robbed of his mindfulness. 4. He has no perception of difference, 5. His thought is never unconcentrated. (P212) 6. His even-mindedness is not due to lack of consideration. 7. His zeal, 8. vigour. 9. mindfulness, 10. concentration, II. wisdom and 12. deliverance never fail. 13. All the deeds of his body, 14. voice and 15. mind are preceded by cognition, and continue to conform to cognition. 16. His cognition and vision regarding the past, 17. future and 18. present period of time proceeds unobstructed and freely. And all that without taking anything as a basis. I 9,1

THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE DHARANIS And again, Subhuti, the Dharani-doors are the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva. the great being. Which are they? The sameness of all letters and syllables, the sameness of all spoken words, the syllable-doors, the syllable-entrances. What then are the syllable-doors, the syllable-entrances? 1. The syllable A is a door to the insight that all dharmas are un-produced from the very beginning (ady-anutpannatvad); 2. RA is a door to the insight that all dharmas are without dirt (rajas) ; 3. PA is a door to the insight that all dharmas have been expounded in the ultimate sense (paramartha); 4. CA is a door to the insight that the decease (cyavana) or rebirth of any dharma cannot be apprehended, because all dharmas do not decease, nor are they reborn; 5. NA is a door to the insight that the Names of all dharmas have vanished; the essential nature behind names cannot be gained or lost. 6. The syllable LA indicates that all dharmas have transcended the world (loka); because the causes and conditions of the creeping plant (lata) of craving have been utterly destroyed; 7. DA is a door to 379 The Syadvadamanjari, a Jain work, explains on p. 13 the word as follows : “‘Trip-up’ — they fall from the path of logical reasoning. The meaning is that they beco

me unable to reply. And here by ‘tripping’ a ridiculousness in the eyes of oritative people is suggested”. “He never makes a false step” is the probable meaning in the Pali texts (CPD). 380 My translation generally follows the Gilgit P, which is our oldest Sanskrit document. It differs in many details from the translation I gave in SS no. 127, at a time when I had no access yet to a microfilm of the Gilgit MS.

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all d a

because of the non-apprehension of

Mine-making (mamakara); 18. GA because of that of motion

(ga tence (sthana).

harms because "tamed" and "taming" (dantadamatha) have been circumscribed; 8. BA indicates that the Bonds have departed from all dharmas; 9. DA that the tumult (damara) of all dharmas has vanished; 10. SHA that no attachment (shanga) in any dharma is apprehended; they are neither attached nor bound. 11. The syllable VA is a door to all dharmas because the sound of the paths of speech (vakpalhaghosha) has been quite cut off; 12. TA because all dharmas do not depart from Suchness (tathata) ; 13. YA because of the non-apprehension of any fact (yalhavad); 14. SHTA because of the non-apprehension of a support (shtambha); 15. KA because of the non-apprehension of an agent. 16. The syllable SA is a door to all dharmas because of the non-apprehension of sameness (samata); they never stray away from sameness; 17. MA

mana)381; 19. STHA because of that of subsis

20. JA because of that of birth (jati); 21. The syllable SVA is a doorway to all dharmas because of the non-apprehension of a principle of life (svasa)382; 22. DHA because of that of the Realm of Dharma (dharmadhatu); 23. SA because of that of calming-down (samatha); 24. KHA because of that of the sameness of383 space (kh

a); 25. KSHA because of that of extinction (kshaya). 26. The syllable STA is a door to all dharmas because each dharma is fixed (stabdha?) in its place, and never leaves it384; 27. JNA because cognition (jnana) cannot be apprehended (P213) 28. RTA because mortality (martya)385 cannot be apprehended; 29. HA because a root-cause (hetu), and 30. BHA because breaking-up (bhanga) cannot be apprehended. 31. The syllable CHA is a door to all dharmas because glamour (chaver apy); 32. SMA because remembrance (smarana); 33. HVA bec

ause true appellations (ahvana); 34. TSA because will-power (utsaha) cannot be apprehended: 35. BHA because things and persons are not apprehended each as one solid mass (ghana).

1 gamana in S. S-Ti and P-Ti. P: gagana. Gilgit P differs from both, but the microfilm is somewhat illegible here. Perhaps grahana, like Mokshala, who says “to seize on dharmas is no way of seeing them”. 382 So P. S, S-Ti. - P Gilgit svada? “taste, flavour”? 383 Gilgit P omits “the sameness o

84 The explanation is from Mokshala, who had astitva or stabdha. Also Yuan-tsang agrees to some extent with it. 385 Mokshala has here artha. 200

36. The syllable THA is a door to all dharmas because of the non-apprehension of fabricated appearances (vithapana); 37. NA because strife (ranu) has departed, no one goes or comes, stands, sits or lies down. or makes any discriminations of this kind: 38. PHA because no fruit (phala) is apprehended: 39. SKA

ndhas are apprehended; 40. YSA because no decay (ysara=jara)is apprehended.386 41. The syllable SCA is a door to all dharmas. because of the non-apprehension of good conduct (scarana)387; 42. TA because of the non-apprehension of the other shore388; 43 DHA because of the non-apprehension of unsteadiness. In their ultim

ion dharmas neither decrease nor are they reborn.389 No letters or syllables are in conventional use except the foregoing. Any why? For no word that is not composed of them is used when aything is conventionally expressed, talked about, pointed out, written about, made manifest or recited. Simply lik

ce should one pursue all dharmas. This, Subhuti, is called the entrance into the door of the Dharanis, the entrance into the exposition of the letters A, etc. Any Bodhisattva who cognizes this skill in the letters A, etc. will not be tied down by any sounds, he will accomplish everything through the sameness of all dharmas, and he will acquire the skill in the cognition of sounds.

Twenty advantages should be expected for a Bodhisattva who, after having heard this Seal of the entrances into the letters A, etc., will learn it, bear it in mind, recite it, study it and methodically demonstrate it to others. Which are the twenty? 1. He will be mindful, clever, intelligent, steadfast, modest, wise, and inspired. 2. He will acquire the Dharani-doors with

ssailed by doubts. 4. he will have no uncertainties. 5. Soft ords do not win him over, harsh words do not upset him, and he will be neither haughty nor dejected. 6. He will act properly in ccordance with circumstances. 7. He will be skilled in sounds;

7 so P and Kumarajiva. S carya, S-Ti spyod-pa. But P Gilgit: “Because the letter CA cannot be apprehended”. 388 talo? After Kumarajiva who says: “the o

oes not exist” - S-Ti has sdug-bsnal, usually duhkha.

9 Here the original text cannot easily

n S, S-Tib, Gilgit P and Mokshala. “Unsteadiness” occurs only in S-Ti as gYo-ba, I have collected 14 Sanskrit equivalents for it, but no

nal station” is paryanta-nistha-s

201

8.

of the recollection of former births; 15. in

the

he will

acq

in the skandhas, elements, sense fields, Truths, and conditioned co-production; 9. in the root-cause, in conditions, in the true nature of dharmas; (P214) 10. in the cognition of the higher and lower faculties of others; 11. in the cognition of the thoughts of others; 12. in the cognition of the various kinds of wonderworking powers; 13. in the cognition of the heavenly ear; 14. in the cognition

cognition of decease and rebirth; 16. in the cognition of the extinction of the outflows; 17. in the exposition of what can be and what cannot be; 18. in going out and coming back; 19. in the postures; and 20. he will also become skilled in sense of shame and dread of blame. These twenty advantages

uire.390 Also this entrance into the Dharani-door of the letters A, etc. is the great vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being, and that also in consequence of taking nothing at all as a basis.

390 The numbering of the 20 items is my own. The text itself gives no clue as to which items belong together, and which ones are reckoned separate

202

CHAPTER 17 THE PREPARTIONS FOR THE STAGES I 9,16. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE STAGES. As Subhuti has said, “How does a Bodhisattva become one who has set out in the great vehicle?” Here, Subhuti, a Bodhisattva, coursing in the six perfections, passes on from stage to stage. How? In the sense that no dharma ever passes on.391 And why? Because no

es near. A Bodhisattva does not mind the stages of dharmas, does not reflect on them. He sets to work on each stage, but does not review392 that stage. Which then are the pr

harma-element is eternally stable. 392 Nag: does not seize on its characteristics.

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3. Firm grounding in the power of patience. 4. The experience

of joy and zest. 5. (a ment of all beings, (b)

The manifestation of the 6. Respect and faith

for the instructors. 7. Reverence for the instructors through the

fact he

perfections

III. Furthermore, on the third stage, one should stand in five

dharmas. They are: 1. An insatiable desire to learn much, but

2. The disinterested

reve

. Contentment. 4. The

B. Another six dharmas should be avoided. They are:

renounce all things. 6. Distraction by beggars.

t views, 6. eternalist views,

) The non-abandon great compassion. that he identifies them with the Teacher. 8. Search for texclusively and entirely.

without settling down in the words.

lation of the gift of Dharma, but without conceit about that. 3. The dedication of the wholesome roots to the purification of the Buddha-field, but without conceit about that. 4. Indefatigability in measureless birth-and-death, but without conceit about that. 5. Establishment in a sense of shame and a dread of blame, but without conceit about that. IV. Furthermore, on the fourth stage, one should stand in ten dharmas, and not abandon them. They are: 1. Dwelling in the forest. 2. Fewness of wishes. 3

no

n-abandonment of the austere penance of the ascetic practices. 5. The non-renunciation of moral training. 6. Loathing of sensuous qualities. 7. Production of a thought connected with disgust. 8. Renunciation of all that is (his). 9. An un-cowed attitude of mind. 10. Disregard for all things. V. Furthermore, on the fifth stage, on should avoid ten dharmas. They are: 1. Intimacy with householders and wandering mendicants. 2. Jealousy about the families of the faithful. 3. The places where on meets society. 4. Exaltation of self. 5. Depreciation of others. 6. The ten ways of unwholesome action. 7. (a) Conceit, and (b) arrogance. 8. Perverted views. 9. Doubt. 10. Toleration of greed, hate, and delusion. (P216) VI. A. Furthermore, on the sixth stage, six dharmas should be fulfilled. They are the six perfections. VI.

1.

Disciple-thought. 2. Pratyekabuddha-thought. 3. Worrying thought. 4. Annoyance about beggars when one sees them. 5. A thought of sadness, in spite of the fact that one must

VII. A. Furthermore, on the seventh stage twenty dharmas do not become. One does not seize on 1. a self, 2. a being, 3. a liv

ingsoul, 4. a person, 5. annihilationis

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7. the notion of a sign, 8. views about causes. One does not settle down in 9. the skandhas, 10. the elements, 11. the sense fields, 12. what belongs to the triple world. 13. One does not attempt to do something about what belongs to the triple world, 14. one does not hang on to what belongs to the triple world. One does not settle down in views which 15. regard the B

the

Dharma as a refuge, 17. regard the Samgha as a refuge, 18. regard morality as a refuge. There are 19. no contentions about “empty are the dharmas”, and 20. no obstructions to emptiness. VII. B. One who stands on the seventh stage should fulfil twenty dharmas. They are: 1. Penetration into emptiness, 2. realisation of the sign-less, 3. cognition of the wish-less; 4. the threefold perfect purity, 5. pity and compassion for all beings, 6. no contempt for them, 7. a vision of the sameness of all dharmas but without settling down in it, 8

but

no conceit through that, 9. patient acceptance of non-production, 10. cognition of non-production, 11. exposition of the one single principle, 12. the uprooting of the imagination of all dharmas, 13. turning away from perception and views, 14. turning away from defilement, 15. pacification through calming-down, coupled with skill in insight, 16. a mind completely tamed, 17. the state of thought in which cognition is nowhere obstructed, 18. no ground for fawning, 19. going to the field one wis

20

. having stood there in the circle of the Buddha-assembly, exhibiting a body. (P217) VIII. A. Furthermore, on the eighth stage four dharmas should be fulfilled. They are: 1. entrance into the thought of all beings, 2. playing with the super-knowledges, 3. the vision of Buddha-fields, and the creation, in accordance with what one has seen, of those Buddha-fields, and 4. honouring the Buddhas, and the contemplation o

VII

I. B. Another four dharmas should be fulfilled on the eighth stage: 1. The cognition of the hig

thers 2. the purification of the Buddha-field, 3. the perpetual attainment of the concentration on (everything) as an illusion, 4. as the wholesome roots of beings reach consummation, so he conjures up a personality, producing a (new) becoming at will. IX. Furthermore, on the ninth stage twelve

be f

ulfilled. They are: 1. The acquisition of infinite resolve: just as he resolves, so he succeeds; 2. the cognition of the speech of gods, Nagas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras, and

205

Mahoragas. 3. The cognition of the exposition of ready speech. The accomplishment of 4. the descent into the womb, 5. the family, 6. the birth, 7. the clan, 8. the retinue, 9. the manner of birth, 10. leaving home, 11. the miraculous harmony of the tree of enlightenment, 12. the fulfilment of all virtuous qualities. X. When he proceeds on the tenth stage, a Bodhisattva, a great being is verily to be called a Tathagata. I

1. T

he preparation of resolute intention393 consists in that the Bodhisattva procures all wholesome roots, through attentions connected with the knowledge of all modes.394 2. He supplies with beneficial things in the sense that, for the weal of all beings, he undertakes the search for the cognition of the great vehicle. 3. The same attitude of mind to all beings395 consists in his aspiring for the four Unlimited,396 i.e. friendliness, compassion, 393 adhyasaya. At this point the Bodhisattva has already had his first “thought of enlightenment”, and achieved a great deal. Nag: He has cut himself off from the world which he detests, and is automatically drawn towards Buddha-hood. His five spiritual faculties, faith, etc., are sufficiently matured to enable him to distinguish between what is and what is not conducive to emancipation. Because he has previously had a taste of Perfect W

isdom

, he can now proceed with “resolute intention”. Enclosed by his former deeds in the dark prison of the twelve sense fields, all that he sees and knows is false. But once he has heard the Perfection of Wisdom being preached, and has appreciated it to some extent, he thinks deeply about omniscience and resolves by all means (upaya) to escape from his prison, as the Buddhas and Aryas did before him. – Before I 1 was reached, he had made his Vow to become a Buddha. Now he begins to act on it. – cf. Si 284 sq. 394 Nag: (1) As soon as a Bodhisattva produces the thought of en

the vow, “In a future existence I will be a Buddha”. Because it is linked to the vow to become a Buddha, this thought is connected with omniscience. A Bodhisattva of keen faculties, who has accumulated much merit, whose passions are weak and whose past sins are few, obtains “resolute intention” at the very moment of his first thought of enlightenment. (2) The “thought of enlightenment” consists in desiring enlightenment wholeheartedly. The attenuation of worldly thoughts in the course of successive lives constitutes the “attentions, etc.” All the qualities whichodh

a

Bisattva acquires no longer contribute to his present or future happiness, longevity or security; they exclusively have all-knowledge in view. Just as a miser for no particular reason refuses to part with even a penny, and economises and accumulates with the sole aim of augmenting his treasure, so the Bodhisattva, whether he has many merits or few, seeks for nothing else than to economise and accumulate them with a view to omniscience.

206

sympathetic joy and impartiality, and that through attentions associated with the knowledge of all modes. (P218) 4. His renunciation397 means that he gives gifts to all beings without discrimination. 5. In tending the good friends he knows that his goo

ar

e those who instigate him to the knowledge of all modes. Those friends he tends, he resorts to them, honours

7.

He again and again leaves home, i.e. in all his births he leaves home life,399 uncontaminated (by other religious systems) he goes out into the religion of the Tathagata, and nothing comes to hi

im

n between to hinder him. 8. The preparation of longing for the body of a Buddha consists in that, after he has seen a Buddha-frame, he never again

395

y, and makes a vow that he will lead all beings to the happiness of Buddha-hood. 2. When he sees them unhappy, he exercises Compassion, and makes a vow to remove the unhappiness of all beings. 4. When he sees them neither happy nor unhappy, he produces Impartiality, and makes the vow to induce all beings to renounce all affection and aversion. – “Aspires for” can also mean “achieves”. 397 Nag: The giving up of material objects serves to counteract the desire to keep, hoard, and posses them. When practiced long enough, it lead on the seventh stage to the second kind of renunciation, which consists in giving up the “bonds” so as to be able to win enlightenment. 398 H: “he searches for Dharma” as an objective support for his activities. Nag: “Dharma” here means the holy Scriptures. To “search for Dharma” means to copy, recite, and study them, to meditate on them, and to be willing, if nece

crifice one’s life for them. 399 Nag: The Bodhisattva knows that home life causes and occasions many sins. “If I remain in the home life, I shall myself be incapable of observing the pure practices: how then can I lead others to practice them? If I follow the rules which govern life in a household. I will need a whip, stick, etc., and will torment beings. On the other hands, if my mode of life conforms to the Good Law, I must violate the rules of life in a household. A choice between the two ways of life is therefore inevitable. If I do not abandon my home now, I will nevertheless be compelled to do so at the time of my death; if I renounce it today on my own, my merit will be great”. The Bodhisattva also reflects: “Kings and noblemen, as powerful as the gods, seek for happiness, but never find it. Death brutally takes them away. Today I will, for the sake of beings, leave home life, in order to observe the perfectly pure morality (of a monk), to seek the enlightenment of a Buddha, and to fulfil the causes of the perfection of morality”.

207

becomes lacking in attention to the Buddha,400 until he becomes one who has reached the knowledge of all modes.

9.

The preparation of the unveiling of Dharma consists in that the Bodhisattva, whethe

wh

ether he has gone into Parinirvana, demonstrates to beings the Dharma – helpful401 in the beginning, helpful in the middle, helpful at the end, good in sense, well-phrased, perfect, and complete

an

d in that he reveals the holy life, perfectly pure and highly cleansed – i.e. the Discourses, Discourses in Prose and Verse Mingled, Predictions, Verses, Summaries, Origins

Bi

rth Stories, Expanded Texts, Marvels, Tales and Expositions. 10. His preparation of truthful speech consists in that as he speaks so he acts.402

II

non-attention also to other dharmas which make for bad behaviour, o

r cause delays on the road to enlightenment. 2. A Bodhisattva’s gratitude and thankfulness consists in that, (P219) coursing in the Bodhisattva-course, he does not, throughout the round of birth-and-death, forget a small kindly action (done to him), much less a big one.404

400 The “longing” results from “resolute intention”, and leads to a meeting with the Buddha in each life (Nag). 401 “helpful”, also “lovely, beau40

2 Nag: If he lived as a householder, a Bodhisattva would often have to lie. In the Buddha’s Dharma, Truth is held in great honour, and it is through Truth that Nirvana is gained. At this early stage Truth is honoured by “truthful speech”, which can be believed and accepted by o

orality, and spiritual knowledge. 403 The Disciples, etc., are condemned for the traces of self-seeking in them. 404 Nag: Some believe that they owe their present enjoyments and advantages to their former merits and say to their benefactors: “I have my own merit; what benefitg have you bestowed on me?” To counteract this false view, the Buddha here enjoins them to feel “gratitude”. Although beings have in their former lives acquired a right to happiness (sukha-hetu), they could not enjoy this happiness if present circumstances, among them the generosity of the benefactors, did not contribute something also. The seed of the corn is in the earth; but without rain it could not germinate. One cannot say that the rain renders it no service on the pretext that it is the seed which produces the corn. Although the benefits which we reap now have been planted by us in the course of our former lives, yet the respectful and affectionate disposition

208

3. He is firmly grounded in the power of patience because his mental attitude to all beings is free from ill will and

4.

The experience of joy and zest405 consists in the maturing of all beings. 5. This is the manifestation of the great compassion that a Bodhisattva, who course on the pilgrimage of a Bodhisattva, thinks that “for the sake of the weal of every single being will I roast in the hells for aeons countless as the sands of the Ganges, until that being has been established in the Buddha-cognition”.406 This fortitude, this indefatigability, for the sake of even one single being, that is the manifestation of the great compassion.

6.

A Bodhisattva’s respect through faith407 consists in that, through being always

urc

do

or to wholesome actions. A grateful person is loved and esteemed by men, and his reputation spreads far and wide; after his death he is reborn in the heavens, and finally he reaches enlightenment. The ungrateful are, however, reborn as animals. Moreover the Bodhisattva reflects: “If I want to save even those who have done me harm, why not those who have helped me?” 405 Nag: II 4 follows directly on II 1-3. The Bodhisattva sees that m

or

ality has won him purity of body and speech, that gratitude and patience have won him purity of thought. So he “feels joy”, like a man who has bathed in perfumed water, put on new clothes and now regards himself in a mirror. Just so the bodhisattva congratulates himself on having won such excellent qualities. “Morality”, he says to himself, “is the root of trance and wisd

atience, the Bodhisattva converts beings and causes them to be reborn in the presence of a Buddha of anot

here they enjoy happiness. Or he causes the

hat is hwy he is said to “feel joy”. 406 “manifestation” = “presence”. Nag. Raises an objection: “Since one cannot take upon oneself the punishment due to someone else, why does the Bodhisattva make such a vow?” The Bodhisattva, in his great resoluteness, loves all beings deeply, and if he could possibly do

oreover he notices that among men in some sacrifices to the gods substitutes of

ne person by another are permitted. He then says to himself, “in the hells also there will be substitutions of this kind, and I will take the place of other men”. Beings honour and respect the Bodhisattva for his resolution since his profound solicitude for beings surpasses even that of a loving mother. 407 This refers to faith in the teachers without whom no one could possibly gain enlightenment. Nag: To have a proper attitude to the teacher one must discard all conceit and arrogance, and become respectful and docile. The rain of the Dharma is like the rain which falls from the sky; it does not stay on the summits of the mountains, but is bound to flow down to the more low lying country. So, if a man exalts himself, the Dharma and spiritual virtues will remain outside him. 408 nihata-mana, “with his pride slain”.

209

7.

His reverence for, and faith in, the instructor comes from the fact that in his instructors he sees the Teacher.409

8.

The search for the perfections exclusively and entirely is the state of se

el

se.410 III 1. The insatiable desire to learn much411 is the insatiableness which thinks that, whatever has been taught by the Buddhas, the Lords, either here in this world system

,

or in the world all round in the ten directions, all that I will retain in mind.412 2. The disinterested revelation of the gift of Dh

expect for himself even enlightenment as a reward for that gift of Dharma.413 3. The dedication of the wholesome roots to the purification of the Buddha-field is the dedication of the wholesome roots by which, purifying the Buddha-field, he purifies the thought o

f himself and of others. 4. His indefatigability in measureless birth-and-death consists in that, supported by his wholesome roots, he matures beings and purifies the Buddha-field, but never feels any fatigue, until he has fulfilled all dharmas and the knowledge of all modes. 5. The establishment in a sense of shame and a dread of blame means (P220) the shunning of the thought of all Disciples 409 Nag: It is not difficult for the B

e Buddha, because, in possession of wisdom, the guru can do a Buddha’s work. 410 P-Ku and S speak of an “energetic search”. Nag: Single-mindedly the Bodhisattva cultivates the six perfections, which are the cause of a Buddha’s enlightenment. So he cannot fail to succeed. 411 Nag: That is an indispensable condition of wisdom, and with its help one can practice the path with discernment, like a man with eyes who travels along without knocking into obstacles all the time. 412 so S. – Nag : Just as the great ocean can retain all the water of the ten regions, so the Bodhisattva can receive and retain all the Dharmas p

uddhas of the ten regions, and that through the force of the Dharani of memory, of the perfectly pure heavenly ear and of the Dharani which suppresses forgetfulness. 413 Nag: A Bodhisattva who practices the gift of Dharma expects no profit or fame in this, or any reward in a future life. In the interest of beings he does not even desire for himself the Nirvana of the Little Vehicle. It is only out of his great compassion for living beings that, following the Buddha, he turns the wheel

harma.

210

an

d Pratyekabuddha.414

IV

1.

n for enlightenment.416 3. He has contentment, in that he does not put his mind even to the knowledge of all modes.417 4. He does not abandon the austere penance of the as

ctices, that is his patient acquiescence in the deep dharmas which his meditation discloses to him.418 5. His non-renunciation of moral training consists in the non-observa

6. The loathing for sensuous qualities is the non-production of a sensuous thought. 7. The production of a thought connected with disgust consists in that he does no

414 Nag: II 5 envisages only one of the many kinds of the sense of shame, etc., i.e. the one directed towards the ideas of the Disciples, etc. Having resolved to save all beings, a Bodhisattva would be ashamed to live for the purpose of avoiding personal

as isciples do, or to go alone to Nirvana. A man who had prepared a

5 The connection between the first and the second part of this sentence is rather obscure. To “dwell in the forest” is one of the austerities mentioned in IV 4. Nag:

consists in removing oneself from the multitude and living in solitude. When the Bodhisattva rejects the ideas of the Disciples, etc., he removes himself from the multitude. 41

6 Nag: For he realizes that all dharmas are non-existent and empty. 417 Obermiller: absence of conceit even when he has secured the most sublime objects. 41

8 Nag: The twelve ascetic practices produce the purity of morality. That in its turn produces dhyana, and that again wisdom. The patient acceptance, in meditation, of dharmas which fail to be produced, is the reward of the ascetic practices, and the two are related like cause and effect. 419 apracara

ightly different text, says: One sees neither morality nor immorality, and yet one does not violate morality. Far more important to a Bodhisattva than morality is his entry into Emptiness as a door to deliverance. 420 anabhisamskara, also “loses interest in”. Nag: As a reward for his disgust for the world he can

211

8. His renunciation of all that is his consists in the absence of seizing on inward and

e fo

1a. He avoids intima

Buddha-field to Buddha-field, is reborn apparitionally, and appears with the shaven head, yellow rob

k.41b. He avoids intimacy with423 nuns, i.e. he does not stay with a nun even for the time of a finger s

troubled on that account. 2. A Bodhisattva avoids jealous

hful when he thinks to himself, “I should bestow that makes them happy. But if those

ply by their own merits, then I should not grudge them that.”

421 vijnana-sthiti. This seems to refer to the objects and sense organs on which the six kinds of consciousness are based. 422 Nag: By avoiding the company of householders a Bodhisattva can accumulate pure qualities. In his solitude he plunges himself into the recollection of the Buddha, transforms his body, betakes himself to the Buddha-fields, leav

aves his head, and puts on the yellow robe. Why? Because he is satisfied with being a wanderer, and detests the company of householders. – Most texts are corrupt here, Yuan-tsang’s being probably the best. Instead of “is reborn apparitionally” he has “wherever he is reborn, he always leaves home”. 423 P here adds “mo42

4 Nag: Why, if all beings are considered alike, should he not be with

ecause a Bodhisattva who has not yet gained the irreversible stage, who has not yet destro

ved and desired women. He also must avoid the calumnies of other men, for anyone who would calumniate him would go to hell. 425 This is not very clear. Nor is Nag: The Bodhisattva reflects: “I myself have left home, without greed or regret; why should I feel gree

f others (parakula)? It is a rule among Bodhisattvas that they want to lead beings to happiness; these persons help me to give happiness to beings, why be jealous of them? The beings who thanks to the merits of their former lives enjoy some power in their present existence, will pay me their hom

212

thoughts connected with them.

4. He avoids self-exaltation by the non-reviewing of inward dharmas, and, 5. the depreciation of other

utward dharmas.426 6. He should avoid the ten ways of unwholesome action

ause they cause obstacles to a happy destiny, how much more so to the ho

sup

7b. He avoids arrogance because he does not review that entity with regard to which arrogance could arise. 8. He avoids perverted views through his non-apprehension of all entities.

9. He avoids doubt because he reviews all dharmas free from the doubts engendered by the view of individuality.427 10. He avoids the toleration of greed, hate, and delusion bec

ause he reviews no objective cause for greed, hate, and delusion. VI. A

satva should fulfil the six perfections. (Because having stood in these six perfections, the Buddhas and Lords, and

and Pratyekabuddha, have gone, do go and will go to the other shore of the flood of the

the future, the present, the inexpressible, the unconditioned.)428 VI. B 1. A Bodhisattva should Disciple-thought and 2.

atyekabuddha-thought, because it is not

enlightenment.429 426 Nag: Inward dharmas are the appropriated, outward dharmas the un-appropriated skandhas.

7 No. 9 is missing in S and P-Ku (but see not 41). H explains as the avoidance of false opinions, such as the view of individuality. P: sandeha-apagatan, sandeha may mean “doubt”, or “accumulation, the human body”. 428 The passage in brackets is found in S and P-Ti only. 429 Nag: At this stage, the Bodhisattva contemplates the emptiness of all dharmas. But since he does not yet possess the pow

213

3. He should not raise a worrying thought,430 because that is not the path to enlightenment. 4. He should not produce a thought of annoyance when he sees beggars, because that is no

5. He does not become sad even when he has renounced all that he had, because that is not the path to enlightenment. 6. He should no

th to enlightenment.431 VII. A

A Bodhisattva does not seize on: 1. a sel

f, or 2. a being, or 3. a soul, or

4. a person, because, absolutely, they do not exist. 5. He does not seize

on annihilationist views, for no dharma (P222) is ever annihilated, since all dharmas are absolutely un-produced.

6. He does not seize on eternalist views, because a dharma that has not been produced cannot become eternal. 7.

alse vie

9. He does not settle down in skandhas, 10. elements, or 11. sense-fields, because through their own-being these dharmas do not exist. 12. He does not settle down in that which belongs to th

ongs o the triple world, because such an entity cannot

eir manner of thinking. 430 or “a thought of regret”.

odhisattva loves beings deeply, has a thought of great compassion, and knows the absolute emptiness of all dharmas. When he gives he spares nothing. H: a thought afraid of the idea that there is no own-being on which it co

1 so P, and H 214

apprehended. 14. He does

erything in it is without own-being. 15. He should not take refu

16. Dharma, and 17. Samgha, because it is not from taking refuge in the

uddha, Dharma, and Samgha, that there is a vision of Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha.

18. He should not take refuge in the view of morality,432 because perfect purity of moralit

no co

ugh emptiness.433 ctio

20.No obstru

har are empty,

VII. B

1. Emptiness should be fulfilled through the fulfilment of the emptiness of o

2. The sign-less should be realized through non-attention to all signs.

3. The wish-less is cognized when his thought is no longer firmly grounded in anyth

3) 4. The threefold perfect

s of wholesome action.

5. e fulfilment

ieved by acquiring the great compassion.434 6. He should des

ome perfect.

e adds nothing to all dharmas, and subtracts nothing from them. 432 Ob. 169: This refer

lvation. 433 cf. Madhyamakavatara 118, in the discussion of the paratantra of the Yogacarins: “in their system it is through emptiness that all dharmas are empty, and not through their own-being”. – cf. Pras. 370. 434 Th

exts, no.168.

215

8. His penetration to the really true principle is the non-penetration of all dharm

9. His patient acceptance of non-production is the patient acceptance of the fact that all dharmas are not produced, stopped, or put together.

10. His cognition of non-production is the cognition of the non-production of name and form.

11. The exposition of the one single princip

ence all notions of

12. uprooting of the imagination435 of all dharmas is the non-discrimination of all dharmas. 13. His turning away f

y from the perceptions and views of the level of all Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas. 14. His turning away from

defilements, and of the residues relating to them.436 15. The stage where quietude and insight are in equilibrium is the cognition of the kno

16. His mind is completely tamed, for he feels no delight for the triple world.

ev

en-mindedness concerning everything that belongs to the six sense fields.

435 an

ka

lpa, their fashioning by thought-constructions. 436 Nag: The Bodhisattva, by the power of his merits and of his morality, has already subdued the gross passions, and practices the path in full security. He is left with o

th

em. In addition, the Bodhisattva, making use of true wisdom, sees in all passions their true character (bhutanaya). He is like a man, endowed with the super-knowledges, who can transform

r

epulsiveness into loveliness. 437 Nag: In the first three stage insights predominated over quietude, because the Bodhisattva was still incapable of intense concentratio

quilibrium is reached between quietude and the insight which he turns on the emptiness

odhisattva. From the seventh stage onwards, the stage from which no reversal is possible, he obtains the knowledge of all modes successively and by degrees. 438 anumaya. With its opposite, pratigha, “ave

ust be overcome. It means that one is “led along” by somebody, “won over” by him.

216

19

. His going to the field he wishes to go to consists in that, without his stirrin

Bu

ddha-fields, and yet has no notion of a Buddha-field. 20. The exhibiting of a body everywhere refers to the

ex

hibition of a body in the circle of the assembly.439

VI

II. A 1. His entr

anc

e into the thoughts and conduct of all beings consists in that, with one single thought he cognizes the thoughts and conduct of all beings.440

2.

He plays with the super-knowledges in the sense that, playing with them (at will), he

can

pass from Buddha-field to Buddha-field for a vision of the Buddha, but he does not become one who has a notion of the Buddh

a.

3. The creation of Buddha-fields in accordance with what he has seen441 consists in that, after he has occupied in the great trichiliocosm the p

osi

tion of its Ruler, or that of a Universal Monarch,442 he renounces all world systems and yet does not fancy himself for that. (P224)

4a.

He honours the Buddhas, i.e. honours the Dharma in order to help all beings.

4b.

His contemplation of the Buddha-body as it really is, is the contemplation

of

the Dharma-body as it really is.

wn body in different ways according to the body-modifica

spositions and intentions. In an assembly of Brahmins he looks like a Brahmin, etc. So Dasabhumika, of the 8th bhumi (M). 440 Nag: The Bodhisattva is like a good physician who has learned how to examine his patients, and knows whether they can be cured or not, and whether their cure is far off or near. He can penetrate the thought-currents of all beings, knows which ones are devoid of the conditions of salvation and which o

r it, and also knows when and by which means of method they will be saved. 441 i.e. in those other Buddha-fields. 442 Nag: The eighth stage is called “the stage of the Universal Monarch”. Just as the precious wheel of a Universal Monarch goes everywhere without meeting with any obstacle, hindrance or foe, just so the Bodhisattva who dwells in this stage causes the jewel of the Law to rain down, satisfies the wishes of beings, and no one can hinder him. He can also seize on the characteristics of the Pure Lands he has seen, and, taking them as his model, perfect his own field.

217

1.

His cognition of the higher and lower faculties of others, consists in that, as a result of having stood in the ten power,443 he has a wise co

bei

ngs are perfected. 2. He purifies the Buddha-field by purifying the thought of all beings.

3a.

His concentration on everything as an illusion has the result that he does all deeds, and yet no actual performance t

inment o

go

od deeds of his past. 4. He gains a personality at will, i.e. as the wholesome roots of beings come to completion, so a Bodhisattva takes hold of a pen445

rs

oality at will. IX. A

1.

The Bodhisattva’s infinite resolve consists in that, as a result of having fulfilled the six perfections, whatever he resolves upon that he accomplishes. 2. His cognition of the speech of all beings consists in that, through the analytical kno

speech of the gods, etc.

nalytical knowledge of ready speech, he penetrates to the 44

3 This cognition is mentioned at P 210 as the fifth of the powers of a Tathagata. Through it the Tathagata, and also to a lesser degree the Bodhisattva, knows to what extent a person’s spiritual faculties, or organs, are developed, whether they are dull or keen, and which one of them predominates. This knowledge help him to save beings.

4 Nag: He fills the universe with his magical creations, and there is no beneficial activity which he does not accomplish. “But the thought of the Bodhisattva remains immobile, and he does not seize the marks of his thought.” - He never leaves his concentrated trance, indulges in no mental activity whatsoever, and performs all his world-saving actions spontaneously and without any effort, as a kind of magi

ay. – H, however: “a firm stand in the

very separate entity”. S: but his mind does not proceed with regard to any dharma. 445 samcintya. (1) He has sovereignty in the choice of his rebirth. (2) He is reborn with the set purpose of doing some good in the world, whereas most of us are forced into a definite rebirth by the effect of our former deeds. (3) He adopts a form of existence which is most suitable to serve the needs

218

cognition which e

ctively. 4. He accomplishes the descent into the womb

amily by44

fa

milies, or in good Brahmin families. 7. He accomplishes the clan by being reborn in that clan from which the former Bodhisattvas have come. 8. He accomplishes the retinue by being endowed with a retin

ue

of Bodhisattvas,447 after he has established beings in enlightenment.

9. He accomplishes the manner of birth: even when just born, a Bodhisattva irradiates all world systems with his splendour, and shakes them all in six ways. (P225)

10. He accomplishes the leaving of his home by leaving home together with many hundreds of thousands of niyutas of kotis of beings.

11. A Bodhisattva’s accomplishment of the miraculous harmony of the Bodhi-tree consists in that the root of his Bodhi-tree is made of gold, the trunk of Vaidurya, the branches of all kinds of jewels, the leaves of all kinds of pr

mplish

X. How should a Bodhisattva, a great being, who has stood on the tenth stage, be called a Tathagata?

When in a Bodhisattva the ten perfections, etc. to: the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas are fulfilled, and when there is the cognition of the knowledge of all modes, and a forsaking of all defilements and of the residues relating to them, and when the 446 or “caste”. 447 Nag: All those who sur

e to another, have accumulated virtuous qualities. Here the Buddha says that he is surrounded only by Bodhisattvas. But through the wonder-working power of his concentration on skilful means also other men and women are created who appear to surround him. 219

gr

eat compassion and all Buddha-dharmas have been fulfilled? It is then that a Bodhisattva, a great being, after the tenth Bodhisattva-stage, is verily to

Wh

ich are the ten stages of a Bodhisattva, a great being? A Bodhisattva, coursing through skill in means in all the perfections, having been trained in the

co

ursing in the Unlimited, the trances, and the formless attainments, coursing in the ten powers of a Tathagata, the analytical knowledges, the eighteen special Buddha-dharmas, having pass

th

e stage of becoming one of the clan, the eighth-lowest stage, the stage of vision, the stage of r

fr

om passion, the stage of him who has done, the stage o

Pr

atyekabuddha, the stage of a Bodhisattva, is established on the Buddha-stage. This is the tenth stag

be

ing. It is thus, Subhuti, that the Bodhisa

be

comes one who has set out in the great vehicle.

220

GOING FORTH ON THE STAGES OF THE GREAT VEHICLE I 9,

17. THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE ANTIDOTES. I 9,16. ANTIDOTE TO THE FIRST DISCRIMINATION OF THE OBJECT ON THE PATH OF VISION. (2. Three questions concerning the “great vehicle”.) As again, Subhuti, you say, “from where will that vehicle go forth?”* It will go forth from what belongs to the triple world. Where the knowledge of all modes is, there it will come to a stand.* And that again in consequence of non-duality. And why? Because those two dharmas, i.e. the great vehicle and the knowledge of all modes, are neither conjoined nor disjoined, immate

rk. And why? Because unmarked dharmas do not go forth, (P226) will not go forth, have not gone forth. T

221

dream, etc., is empty of the own-being of a dream, etc.

I 9,17b. ANTIDOTE TO THE SECOND DISCR TION OF THE OBJECT ON

THE P .

of

mindfulness, etc. to: Buddha-dharmas,

I 9,17c. ANTIDOTE T F THE SUBJECT ON THE

PATH OF VISION.

of the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: (P228) the knowledge of all

erfections, etc. to: the

OTE TO THE SECOND DISCRIMINATION OF THE SUBJECT ON

a sign, an agreed

symbol

IMINAATH OF VISIONThe own-being of the perfections, emptiness, applications O THE FIRST DISCRIMINATION O

modes, is empty of the own-being of the pknowledge of all modes.

I 9,17d. ANTID

THE PATH OF VISION. He would wish for the going forth of a word,

, a conventional expression, a (mere) concept, who could wish for the going forth of unmarked dharmas. And why? Because that which is the own-being of a word, sign, agreed symbol, conventional expression or concept, that will not go forth from what belongs to the triple world, nor will it come to a stand in the knowledge of all modes. And why? Because the own-being of a word, sign, agreed symbol, conventional expression or concept is empty of the own-being of a word, sign, agreed symbol, conventional expression or concept. And the same holds good of Non-production, Non-stopping and the In-effective. It is thus that the great vehicle will not go forth from what belongs to the triple world, and will not come to a stand in the knowledge of all modes. That vehicle has not started off448 (even). I 9,17e. ANTIDOTE TO THE FIRST DISCRIMINATION OF THE OBJECT ON THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT. As again Subhuti has said, “where will that vehicle stand?” This vehicle will not stand anywhere. (P229) And why? Because all dharmas nave no stand. But that vehicle will stand by way of not taking its stand anywhere. Just as the Dharma-element neither stands nor does not stand, just so the great vehicle. Just as non-production, non-stopping, 448 acalitam. 222

non-defilement, non-purification, and the Un-effected d

Dharma-element is empty of the Dharma-element. And why? Because the own-b

s not stand. And why? Because the own-being of the Dharma-element is empty of the own-be

vehicle does not stand anywhere, but it will stand by way of not taking a stand,

moved about.449 I 9,17f. ANTIDOTE TO THE SE

As Subhuti has said, “who will go forth by means of this vehicle?”* No one will go forth by means of that vehicle. Bec

ause that vehicle, and that by which he would go forth, and he who would go forth, and that from which he would go forth – all these dharmas do not exist. Since all these dharmas do not exist, which dharma could go forth by means of which dharma?* And why? Because a self, a being, etc. to: one who sees, is not got at, on account of the fact that a self, etc., are absolutely pure. And similarly with the Dharma-element, the Un-produced, etc., the Un-effected, etc., the skandhas, etc. to: the knowledge of all modes; the joyous stage, the immaculate stage, the light-giving stage, the brilliant stage, the stage which is very difficult to conquer, the stage which is face to face, the far-reaching stage, (P230) the immovable stage, the stage of unerringly effective intentions, the stage of the cloud of Dharma;450 the beginning, the end, and the present; coming, going, and stability; decease and rebirth, decrease and increase – on account of their absolute purit

Because of the non-apprehension of what is everything not got at? Because of the non-apprehension of the Dharma-element. And

why? Because of the non-apprehension of the Dharma-element is the Dharma-element not got at. And so with Non-production, etc. to: the Un-effected, etc. to: Suchness, etc. to: the perfections, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas. 449 acalyayogena.

223

I 9,17g ANTIDOTE TO THE FIRST DISCRIMINATION OF THE SUBJECT ON THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT. The Stream-winner is not got at because of the non-apprehension of a Stream-winner. And why? A Steam-winner cannot be got at on account of this absolute purity. And so with the Once-returner, etc. to: the Tathagata, I 9,17h ANTIDOTE TO THE SECOND DISCRIMINATION OF THE SUBJECT ON THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT. with: the fruit of

and likewise the ten stages, from the stage of bright insight, the stage of becoming on

stage of one who has done, the stage of a Pratyekabuddha, the stage of a Bodhisattva, the stage of a Buddha. It is because of the 18 kinds of emptiness that the stages are not got at, (P231) nor the maturing of beings, nor the purifying of the Buddha-field, nor the five Eyes, etc. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, a great being, in consequence of taking in all dharmas nothing at all as a basis, will go forth by means of the great vehicle to the knowledge of all modes.

224

CHAPTER 19 SURPASSING

I 10. The Progress wh

(3. Why the “Great Vehicle” is so called.) *Subhuti : The great vehicle is called a “great vehicle”. Surpassing the world with its gods, men, and Asuras, that vehicle will go forth. That is why it is called a “great vehicle”. It is like space. As in space, so in this vehicle there is room for countless beings. In this way is this the “great vehicle” of the Bodhisattvas, the great being

pace, so one cannot get at the coming, going or abiding of this great vehicle. Just as one cannot get at the beginning of space, or its end, or its middle, on account of the sameness of the thr

225

not non-existence, then that great vehicle would not go forth, after

having surpassed world en, and Asuras. But

because the world of s orld of form and the

formless world have been constructed by thought, fabricated from

fictions and feigned, b reality really is, but

entirely impermanent, un reversal, and

non-existence, therefore this great vehicle will go forth, after

having surpassed the world with its gods, men, and Asuras. And

formula

should be applied to the skandhas, the 20 kinds of emptiness, the

Limit, the unthinkable

element, etc. to: (P233) the applications of mindfulness, etc. to: the

Budd

hisattva would not, having known all

defil

gata possesses were existents and not

non-existent, then the Tathagata would not outshine the world with

endour and majesty; but he

outshines it because the thirty-two marks are non-existent and not

ith which he

irrad

cannot, with justice, be turned by any recluse, Brahmin, god, Mara,

with its gods, mense desire, the wecause they are not asstable, not eternal, liable to

this holds good not only of the triple world, but the same

Dharma-element, Suchness, the Reality

ha-dharmas, I 10,1b. GOING FORTH WHICH CONSISTS IN FORSAKING. the stages, the fruits of a holy life, from Stream-winner to Buddha, the world with its gods, men, and Asuras, I 10,1c. GOING FORTH WHICH LEADS TO ACHIEVEMENT. and the thoughts which a Bodhisattva produces form the first thought of enlightenment up to his arrival at the terrace of enlightenment. If the adamantine cognition were an existent and not non-existent, then the Bod

ements and their residues as non-existent, reach the cognition of the all-knowing which is furnished with the best of all modes; but he reaches it because the adamantine (P234) cognition is non-existent and not an existent. If the thirty-two marks of a superman which the Tatha

its gods, men, and Asuras with his spl

existents. And the same applies to the light w

iates countless world systems. If the Tathagata’s voice, which has sixty special qualities, were an existent and not non-existent, then the Tathagata would not make his voice resound through countless world-systems in the ten directions; but he makes it resound because it is non-existent and not an existent. If the Tathagata’s wheel of Dharma, with its three revolutions and its twelve spokes, were an existent and not non-existent, then the Tathagata would not have turned this wheel of Dharma which 226

Brahma, or anyone else in the world; but he has turned it because it is non-existent and not an existent. If the beings for whose sake the Tathagata has turned the wheel of Dharma were existents and not non-existent, then surely he would not have led those beings to Nirvana in the realm of Nirvana which leaves has turned the wheel of Dharma are non-existent and not existents, therefore beings have been led to Nirvana, are being led to Nirvana, and will be led to Nirvana. I 10,2. SAMENESS. Sariputra: As Subhuti , you have said, “the same as space is this vehicle”, so it is: the same as space is the great vehicle. For these are the feat

short, round or square, even or uneven; not blue, yellow

crimson, or crystalline; not past, future, or present. No decrease, increase, or loss can be conceived of th

alteration of stability. They are not wholesome, un

indeterminate. They are not seen, heard, known, or discerned. They are not cognisable or uncognizable, not discernable or comprehensible, not to be realised, forsaken or developed, not karma results or liable to lead to karma results. They are not included in the world of sense desire, the world of form, or the formless world. They are not with or without greed, with or withour hare, with or without delusion. In them there is no first thought of enlightenment, no second, etc. to: no tenth; none of the stages and none of the fruits. They are not material or immaterial, (P236) definable or undefinable, resisting or non-resisting, conjoined or disjoined; not permanent or impermanent, at ease or ill, self or not-self, lovely or repulsive, empty or not empty, with sign or sign-less, with wish or wish-less, calm or un-calm, isolated or un-isolated. And in both of them there is no light or darkness, both cannot be seized or apprehended, and in both of them there is no utterance or non-utterance. In these ways is the great vehicle the same as space. I 10,3. (THE ACTIVITY FOR) THE WEAL OF BEINGS. As again Subhuti you have said, “as in space, so in this vehicle there is room for immeasurable, incalculable, and innumerable beings”, so it is. And why? Because from the non-beingness of 227

beings should the non-beingness of space be known, and form the non-beingness of space should the non-beingness of the great vehicle be known. In this way there is in this great vehicle room for immeasurable, incalculable, and innumerable beings. And why?Because what the beings are, and what space is, and what the great vehicle is – all that is not got at. Moreover, from the non-beingness of beings should the non-beingness of space be known; fro

non-veingness of the

easurable, the incalculable, the innumerable be known. And why? Because, what the beings are, and what space is, and what the great vehicle is, and what is the immeasurable, the incalculable (P237), the innumerable – all that is not got at. Moreover, from the non-veingness of beings should the non-beingness of space be known; from the non-beingness of space should the non-beingness of the great vehicle be known; from the non-beingness of the great vehicle should the non-beingness of the Un-conditioned be known; from the non-beingness of the Unconditioned should the non-beingness of the immeasurable, the incalculable, the innumerable be known; from the non-beingness of the immeasurable, the incalculable, the innumerable should the non-beingness of all dharmas be known. And why? Because what the beings are, and what the Tathagata is, and what space is, what the great vehicle is, and what the Unconditioned is, what is the the immeasurable, the incalculable, the innumerable, and what all dharmas are – all these are not got at. Moreover, from the non-beingness of self and beings should be known the non-beingness of being, soul, person, personality, individual, man, youth, doer, feeler, begetter, and of one who sees; from their non-beingness should be known the non-beingness of the Reality limit and of the un-think-able element; from their non-beingness should the non-beingness of the immeasurable, the incalculable, the innumerable be known; from their non-beingness should the non-beingness of all dharmas be known; from their non-beingness should the non-bein

done with the skandhas, etc., the six perfectioemp

tiness, the applications of mindfulness, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas, the stages, (P239) fruits, etc. to: the knowledge of all modes. Just as in the Nirvana-element there is room for

228

countless beings, so also in this great vehicle. It is in this sense that in this great vehicle, as in space, there is room for immeasurable, incalculable, and innumerable beings. I 10,4. THE ABSENCE OF EXERTION. Again, as Subhuti has said, “of this great vehicle no arrival, departure, or abiding can be seen”, so it is. And why? Because dharmas do not move about. They do not go anywhere, do not come from anywhere, do not abide anywhere. Because the essential original nature of form, etc., does not come from anywhere, nor go to anywhere, nor abide anywhere. And that is true of all dharmas. (P240) I 10,5. BEYOND THE EXTREMES. Again, as Subhuti has said, “of this great vehicle no initial limit is got at, no final limit, no middle. Self-identical in the three periods of times is that great vehicle. That is why it is called the ‘great vehicle’,” so it is. And why? Because the past period of time is empty of the past period of time, the future empty of the future, the present of the present. The sameness of the three periods of time is empty of the sameness of the three periods of time. The great vehicle is empty of the great vehicle, the Bodhisattva empty of the Bodhisattva. But emptiness is not one, not two, not three, etc. to: not ten. That is why owing to sameness of the three periods of time this vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the great being, is self-identical. But therein one cannot apprehend “the same” or “not the same”, greed or dispassion, hate or its absence, delusion or its absence, conceit or its absence, the wholesome or unwholesome, what has outflows or what has none, what has blemishes or what has none, defilement or non-defilement, extinction or non-extinction of defilement, the worldly or the supra-mundane, defiling or purification, Samsara or Nirvana, permanence or impermanence, ease or ill, self or not self, calm or uncalm, the world of sense desire or the transcending of the world of sense desire, the world of form or its transcending, the formless world or its transcending. And why? Because the own-being of all that cannot be apprehended. Past form, etc., is empty of past form, etc. And so is future, and present form, etc. And why? In emptiness (P241) one cannot get at past, future or present form, etc. The very emptiness, how ever empty, cannot be got at in emptiness, how much less past, future, and present

229

form, etc.! One cannot get at the initial limit of the perfection of giving, etc., nor at its final limit, nor can one get at it in the present, owing to the sameness of the periods of time. Nor ca

periods of time; the very samene

eness; how again could one, in sameness, get at the past, future, present perfection of giving, etc.? And what is true of the perfections, that holds good also of the applications of mindfulness, (P242) etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas. Moreover, the common people cannot be got at, in their initial limit, their final limit, or in the present, owing to the sameness of the periods of time. And why? On account of the fact

and Tathagatas. It is thus thain p

erfect wisdom and has trained himself in the three periods of time, should fulfil the knowledge of all modes. This is of the three periods of time. Having stood firmly therein the Bodhisattva, surpassing the world with its gods, men, and Asuras, will go forth to the knowledge of all modes. I 10,6. ATTAINMENT. I 10,6a. GOING FORTH TO ATTAINMENT. D. ATTAINMENT. (1. The Bodhisattva goes forth to attainment.) Subhuti : Well said, O Lord. Well has the Lord taught this great vehicle of the Bodhisattvas, the great beings. In the past period, the Bodhisattvas, who have trained in this great vehicle, have reached the knowledge of all modes. Future Bodhisattvas also, by training in this great vehicle, will reach the knowledge of all modes. And those Bodhisattvas also who, in this world in all the ten directions, are present in innumerable world systems, they, having trained in this great vehicle, do reach the knowledge of all modes. This therefore is the great vehicle of the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, owing to the fact that they are the same in the three periods of time. *The Lord : So it is, Subhuti. Having trained in this great

230

vehicle, past, future, and present Bodhisattvas have reached the knowledge of all modes, will reach it, do reach it.*

231

CHAPTER 20

232

(a) Nothing is ever really brought forth.)

*Subhuti : Furtherm sattva (who sets out on

this journey) does not approach (the goal of full Bodhisattva-hood)

from where it begins, nor from where it ends, nor in the middle

either. From the b , etc., should the

bound-less-ness of a B A Bodhisattva’s form,

etc. does not exist, cannot be apprehended. Since in each and

every way I do not get at a Bodhisattva, or see him, what

Bodh

k of a “self”,

yet a

h is something

uncr

regr ghtened, nor

terri

Because form, etc., cannot be

ated-ness, or in

ng, emptiness

of own-being another, a

ore, O Lord, a Bodhiound-less-ness of formodhisattva be known.

isattva should I instruct and admonish in what perfection of wisdom? (P245) Moreover, this “Bodhisattva” is a mere designation. It is as with the self. Although we spea

bsolutely the self is something uncreated. Since therefore all dharmas have no own-being, what is that form whic

eated? What is uncreated, that is not form etc. How shall I instruct and admonish a non-creation in a perfect wisdom which is also a non-creation? And yet, one cannot apprehend as other than uncreated (the dharmas of) a Bodhisattva who courses towards enlightenment. If, when this is being expounded, the though of a Bodhisattva does not become cowed, stolid, or

etful, and if his mind does not tremble, is not fri

fied, then that Bodhisattva, that great being courses in perfect wisdom.* Sariputra : For what reason, Ven. Subhuti, do you say that “a Bodhisattva does not approach from the beginning, end or middle”? Subhuti : It is because of the non-being-ness, the emptiness, the isolated-ness of a being, because of the absence of an own-being in it, that a Bodhisattva does not approach (a Bodhi-being) at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle. And why? Because as a result of the non-being-ness of a being, its emptiness, its isolated-ness, and the absence of own-being in it one cannot apprehend its beginning, etc. Nor is the non-being-ness of a being, (P246) its isolated-ness, it emptiness, the absence of own-being in it, one thing, and a Bodhisattva another, and beginning, middle, and end again another; for all these are not two nor divided. It is because of the non-being-ness of form, etc. its emptiness, its isolated-ness, its lack of own-being, that a Bodhisattva does not approach (a Bodhi-being) from either beginning, end, or middle.

apprehended in non-being-ness, emptiness, isollack of own-being. Nor is non-being-ness one thi

another, isolated-ness another, lack

233

Bod

hisattva another form, etc., another, b

le another; but all these are not two nor divided. And that should be done for all dharmas. (P247) I 10,6c. NEGATION OF SOMEONE WHO ATTAINS. *Sariputra : As again, Subhuti, you say: for what reason “should the boundless-ness of a Bodhisattva be known from the boundless-ness of form, etc.”? Subhuti : Form, etc., is the same as space. And why? (P248) Of space one cannot apprehend a beginning, end, or middle, but it is because of its endlessness and boundlessness that one speaks conventionally of “space”. Just so one cannot apprehend a beginning, end, or middle form, etc. And why? On account of the emptiness of form, etc. Of emptiness one cannot apprehend a beginning, end, or middle, and yet one nevertheless speaks conventionally of “emptiness”. And so for all dharmas. It is by this method that the boundlessness of a Bodhisattva should be known from the boundlessness of form, etc. Sariputra : For what reason do you say that “a Bodhisattva’s form does not exist, cannot apprehended”? Subhuti : Form, etc., is empty of form, etc. And why? Because in emptiness form, etc., as well as the Bodhisattva, does not e

xist (and cannot be found). And so for all dharmas. (P249) The Disciple is empty of Discipleship, the Pratyekabuddha of Pratyekabuddha-hood, the Tathagata of Tathagata-hood. And

why? For in emptiness the Tathagata does not exist, nor does a Bodhisattva. It is in this way that a Bodhisattva’s form, etc., does not exist, cannot be apprehended. Sariputra : For what reason do you say that “since in each and every way I do not get at a Bodhisattva, or see him, what Bodhisattva should I instruct and admonish in what perfect wisdom? Subhuti : In form, form cannot exist or be apprehended. In feeling form cannot exist or be apprehended, nor can feeling in feeling, feeling in form, form and feeling in perception, perception in perception, perception in form, perception in feeling, form in feeling and perception and impulses, impulses in impulses, impulses in form and feeling and perception (P250), consciousness in form and feeling and perception and impulses. And so for the other dharmas. In Bodhisattva-hood the Bodhisattva cannot exist or be apprehended, nor can the Tathagata in Tathagata-hood, the

234

perfection of wisdom in the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of wisdom in the instruction and admonition, or the instruction and admonition in the perfection of wisdom.

dharmas do not exist and are baseless, that the Bonot e

xist and cannot apprehended. I 10,6d. NEGATION OF BOTH OBJECT AND SUBJECT OF ATTAINMENT. Sariputra : For what reas

hisattva’ is a mere designation”? And why do you say that “the word ‘Bodhisattva’ has been added on as an adventitious designation”? Subhuti : Because words do not come from anywhere in the ten directions, nor do they go to anywhere, nor do they stand anywhere. And that holds good of the words applied to all dharmas and also those applied to the Bodhisattvas. For “form”, etc., are adventitious designations, and what is a designation that is not actually form, etc. And why? For words are empty of the own-being of words, and what is empty, that

his reason that the word “Bodhisattva” is said to be a mere designation. (P251)

Sariputra : For what reason, Subhuti, do you say that “although we speak of a ‘self’, yet absolutely the self is something uncreated”? Subhuti : Absolutely a self does not exist; how then could its real creation take place? And that is true also of the synonyms of ‘self’, like being, soul, etc.; and also of form, etc., and all dharmas. (P252) Sariputra : For what reason has the Ven. Subhuti said that “all dharmas have no own-being”?

Subhuti : Because an own-being acting in causal connection does not exist. Sariputra : Of what is there no own-being acting in causal connection?

Subhuti : Of form, etc. By this method all dharmas are without own-being. Moreover, Sariputra, all dharmas are impermanent, but not because something has disappeared. Sariputra : Which are those all-dharmas which are impermanent, but not because something has disappeared? Subhuti : Form, etc., is impermanent, but not because something has disappeared. And why? For what is impermanent that is non-existence and extinction. Likewise all-dharmas are ill, not-self, calm, empty, sign-less, wish-less, but not because 235

something has disappeared; they are wholesome, faultless, without outflows, undefiled, supra-mundane, non-purified, un-conditioned. And why? Because the Un-conditioned is non-existence and extinction. By this method all dharmas are without own-being, but not by the disappearance of anyth

dharmas are neither unmoved nor destroyed.

Sariputra : For what reason? (P253) Subhuti : Form, etc. is neither unmoved nor destroyed. And why? Such is its essential original nature. The same is true of all that is wholesome or unwholesome, faulty or faultless, with or with

out outflows, defiled or undefiled, worldly or supra-mundane, conditioned or un-conditioned, defilement or purification, Samsara or Nirvana. By this method all dharmas have no own-being. Sariputra : For what reason, Subhuti, have you said that “form, etc., is not brought about”? Subhuti : Form, etc., is not a really created thing. And why? Because there is no agent who could bring them about, nor can such an agent be apprehended. Sariputra : For what reason, Subhuti, is “that which is uncre

ated not form, etc.”? Subhuti : Because form, etc., is empty in its essential nature. And

what is empty in its essential nature, of that there is no production or passing away, and in consequence also no alteration can be conceived of it. (P254) Sariputra : For what reason, Subhuti, do you say, “how shall I instr

uct and admonish a non-creation in a perfect wisdom which is also a non-creation?”

Subhuti : Because, as a non-creation, so is perfect wisdom, and what is perfect wisdom that is a non-creation. Perfect wisdom and a no

n-creation are therefore not two not divided. Sariputra : For what reason “can one not apprehend as other than

uncreated (the dharmas of) a Bodhisattva who courses towards enlightenment”? Subhuti : Because a Bodhisattva, who courses imperfect wisdo

m, does not review a non-creation as one thing, and a Bodhisattva as another. A Bodhisattva and a non-creation are not two

nor divided. Nor does he review form, etc. as other that a non-creation. For a non-creation, and form, etc., are not two nor divided. Sariputra : For what reason, Ven. Subhuti, do you say that “if when this is being expounded, the though of a Bodhisattva does 236

not become cowed, stolid, or regretful, and if his mind does not tremble, is not frightened or terrified, then that Bodhisattva courses in perfect wisdom”? Subhuti : Because there a Bodhisattva reviews all dharmas as without inward striving, as similar to a mock show, a dream, a mirage, an echo, an image, a reflection of the m

ical creation, a village of the Gandharv

(2a. Non-duality.) *At the time when a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom investigates those dharmas, at that time he does not approach form, etc.,* does not grasp at it, does not take his stand on it, does not settle down in it, does not make it known as “form, etc., is that”. For a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisd

om, does not review form, etc.* And why? Because the non-production of form, etc

., is not form, etc. Form, etc., and non-production are not two nor divided. *what is the non-production of the Dharma-element, that is not the Dharma-element. What is the

non-production of Suchness, the space-element, the Reality Limit, the un-think-able element, enlightenment and the kn

owledge of all modes, that is not Suchness, etc., to: not the knowledge of all modes. It is thus that the Dharma-element and non-production are not two or divided. It is thus that Suchness, etc. to: not the knowledge of all modes. It is thus that the Dharma-element and non-producti

on are not two or divided. It is thus that Suchness, etc to: not the knowledge of all modes and non-production are not two or divided. And why? Because no

n-production is not one or two, not many or single. Therefore the non-production of the knowledge of all modes is not the knowledge of all modes.* The passing away of form, etc., is not form, etc. It is thus that th

e skandhas and passing-away are not two or divided.* And why? Because passing-away is not one or two, not many or single. Therefore, what is the passing-away

of the five skandhas, that is not the five skandhas. And so far all dharmas. (P256) *Inasmuch as one calls anything “form”, etc., one makes a count of what is non-dual.* 237

CHAPTER 21

SUBHUTI THE ELDER

I 10

,7. THE GOING-FORTH TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL MODES. Sariputra : How, Subhuti, does a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, investigate these dharmas? What is a “Bodhisattva”, what “perfect wisdom”, what the “investigating”? Subhuti : You ask, “what is a Bodhisattva?” Just enlightenment is his substance, therefore is he called a “Bodhi-sattva”. But though that enlightenment allows him to know the modes of all dharmas, he does not settle down in them. The modes of which dharmas does he know? He knows the modes of form, etc. to: Buddha-dharmas, but does not settle down in them. Sariputra : What are the modes of all dharmas? Subhuti : Those modes, those characteristics, those signs, by which dharmas are made known, those are called the modes of all dharmas. Again, Sariputra, you ask, “what is perfect wisdom?” (P257) She has abstained, she has caused to abstain. That is why she is called perfect wisdom. From what has she abstained, from what has she caused (others) to abstain? From the skandhas, sense fields, and elements, from conditioned co-production, from the perfections, the 20 kinds of emptiness, the applications of mindfulness, etc. to: from the Buddha-dharmas, and all-knowledge. Again, Sariputra, you ask, “what is the investigating?” Here a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, investigates form, etc., as not permanent or impermanent, not at ease or ill, etc. to: not isolated or un-isolated. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in perfect wisdom, investigates all these dharmas.

238

Sariputra : For what reason, Subhuti, do you say that “the

passing-away of form, e .”?

Subhuti : Because t away, and that form,

etc., and the fact of their being undivided – all these dharmas are

neither conjoine l, un-definable,

non-resisting, with one o mark.

Sariputra : For what reason, Subhuti, do you say that,

“inasmuch as one calls anything form, etc., one makes a count of

Disciple has

alrea

tc., is not form, etchese – that passingd nor disjoined, they are immateriasingle mark only, i.e. with n

what is non-dual”?

Subhuti : Because non-production is form, etc., the very form, etc., is non-production. (2c.

Non-production.) *At the time, O Lord, when a Bodhisattva who courses in perfect wisdom investigates those dharmas, at that time he reviews the non-production of form, etc. to: the Buddha-dharmas, on account of their absolute purity. Sariputra : As I understand the meaning of the Ven. Subhuti’s teaching, everything from form to the Buddha-dharmas is non-

production. But is that is so, then surely a

dy attained the enlightenment of a Disciple, one who follows the career of a Pratyekabuddha has already attained the enlightenment of a Pratyekabuddha, and a Bodhisattva has already atta

ined the knowledge of all modes. *There will then be no distinction of the five places of rebirth. If all dharmas are non-production, a Bodhisattva has already attained the five-fold enlightenment. For what purpose should the Stream-winner (P260) develop the Path for the sake of forsaking the three fetters? Or the Once-returner for the sake of attenuating greed, hate and delusion? Or the Never-returner for the sake of forsaking the five lower fetters? Or the Arhat for the sake of forsaking the five high

er fetters? Or those who belong to the vehicle of the Pratyekabuddhas for the sake of the attainment of the enlightenment of a Pratyekabuddha? For what reason does a Bodhisattva go on the difficult pilgrimage, and experience all those sufferings (which he is said to undergo) for the sake of beings? For w

hat reason has the Tathagata known full enlightenment, and turned the wheel of Dharma?

*Subhuti : I do not wish or look for the attainment of an unproduced dharma, or5 for reunion with one. I do not look for the Stream-winner-ship of non-production, or for the fruit of a 239

Strea

ual attainments, up

to

cause

one

ings are like his parents and children, that they

are l

hat “just as one speaks of a ‘self’, and yet,

roduced, so also all inner and outer

on

m-winner in non-production. I do not, on the part of non-production, wish or look for any of the spirit

the enlightenment of a Pratyekabuddha and Pratyekabuddha-hood. I do not look for a Bodhisattva who has gone on the difficult pilgrimage. In any case, a Bodhisattva does not course in the perception of difficulties. And why? Be

who has generated in himself the notion of difficulties is unable to work the weal of countless beings. On the contrary, he forms the notion that all be

ike himself, and then he is able to work the weal of countless beings. He also thinks t

absolutely, a self is un-pdha

rmas are un-produced”. If he forms such a notion, then he will not have a notion of difficulties. And why? Because Bodhisattvas will in each and every way not produce any dharma or apprehend one. I do not look in non-productifor a Tathagata, not for his turn

ing of the wheel of dharma. nor do I look for an un-produced attainment which is being attained by an un-produced dharma. Sariputra : Is then an un-produced attainment attained through an un-produced dharma, or through a produced dharma? (P261) Subhuti : I do not look for an un-produced attainment which is being attained through an un-produced dharma, nor for a produced attainment which is being attained through an un-produced dharma. Sariputra : Do you look for an attainment by an un-produced, or by a produced dharma? Subhuti : I do not look for either.* Sariputra : Is there then no attainment, is there no reunion? Subhuti : There is attainment, there is reunion, but not in ultimate reality. It is through worldly conventional expressions that attainment and reunion are conceived, that Stream-winners, etc. to: Buddhas are conceived. But in ultimate reality there is none of all this. *Sariputra : Is it intelligible to talk of an “un-produced dharma”? Subhuti : As you say, Sariputra, it is intelligible to talk of an “un-produced dharma”, and likewise of “Non-production”. And why

? Because the un-produced dharma, the intelligibility, the talking, and the non-genesis – all these dharmas are neither conjoined nor disjoined, they are immaterial, un-definable, non-resisting, with one mark only, i.e. no mark.

240

Sariputra : The talking also is non-production, and so is the intelligibility, and so is the dharma – and un-produced are those dhaas about which one can talk intelligibly.* Subhuti : So it is, Sariputra. And why? Because everything from form to the knowledge of all modes is non-production. (P262) Sariputra : So it is. Moreover, as attainment and reunion take place only by way of worldly conventional expression, does also the differentiation of the five destinies take place only by way of conventional expression, and not in ultimate reality? Subhuti : So it is, Sariputra. And why? Because in ultimate reality there is no karma or karma result, no production or stopping, no defilement or purification. Sariputra : Furthermore, Subhuti, is an un-produced dharma produced, or is a produced dharma produced? Subhuti : I do not look for the production of a produced dharma, and I also do not look for the production of a n un-produced dharma.

Sariputra : Or which un-produced dharma do you not look for the production?

Subhuti : I do not wish for the production, which is empty of own-being, of the un-produced dharma of form, etc. to: Buddha-dharmas. I do not wish even for the production of enlightenm

Sariputra : And again, Subhuti, is production, or non-production produced?

Subhuti : Neither. And why? Bec

uction and non-production, are neither conjoined nor disjoine

are immaterial, un-definable, non-resisting, with one mark only, i.e. with no mark. In this way neither production nor non-production is produced. Talk is therefore non-production, and so is intelligible speech, and so is a dharma, and also those dharmas are un-p

3) *Sarip

en. Subhuti be placed! And why? For from whatever angle he may be questioned, he always finds a way out. (3. No leaning on anything.) (a) Subhuti : This is the true nature of the Tathagata’s Disciples that they do no lean on all dharmas. From whatever 241

angl

ean on anything?

ehended anywhere between both. In this manner all

dhar

I 10,

is is the worldly perfection of giving: Here a

Bodh

rs,

incen

ngs, and medicines. Likewise

he g

nment, and that without basin myself on anything. By

mea

ch three? The

ers, the notion of a gift. To give a

e they may be question, they always find a way out. And why? Because no dharma ever leans on another.* Sariputra : In what way do all dharmas not l

Subhuti : Form, etc., is empty in its essential original nature. It is not inwardly supported, not outwardly supported, and it cannot be appr

mas do not lean on anything, on account of the empti8ness of their essential original nature. It is thus that a Bodhisattva, who courses in the six perfections, should fully cleanse all dharmas, from form to the knowledge of all modes.

I 10,8. GOING-FORTH ON THE PATH. (b) Sariputra : How does a Bodhisattva, who courses in the six perfections, cleanse the pa

th to enlightenment? Subhuti : There is a worldly perfection of giving, and there is a supra-mundane perfection of giving.

Sariputra : What is the worldly, and what the supra-mundane perfection of giving?

8a. THE WORLDLY PERFECTION OF GIVING. Subhuti : Th

isattva gives, and gives liberally, to recluses, Brahmins, the poor, mendicants, travellers, and beggars. (P264) He gives food to those who are hungry, and to those who desire them he gives drinks, vehicles, garments, perfumes, garlands, ointments, flowe

se, aromatic powders, homes, asylum, shelter, the requirements of life, services, lodgi

ives his sons, daughters, and wife, kingdoms, as well as his head, limbs, flesh, blood, and marrow to those who desire them. But he renounces all that while leaning on something. It occurs to him, “I give, that one receives, this is the gift. I renounce all that I have without any niggardliness. I act as the Buddha commands. I practice the perfection of giving. I, having made this gift into the common property of all beings, dedicate it to the supreme enlighte

ns of this gift and its fruit, may all beings in this very life be at their ease, and may they without any further clinging enter the final Nirvana!” Tied by three ties he gives a gift. Whi

notion of self, the notion of othgift tied by these three ties, tha

t is called the worldly perfection of giving, and it is call “worldly” because one does not swerve away from the world, does not depart from it, does not pass beyond it.

242

I 10,8b. THE SUPRA-MUNDANE PERFECTION OF GIVING. The supra-mundane perfection of giving

sts in the threefold purity. What is the threefold purity?

a Bodhisattva gives a gift, and he does not apprehend a self, a recipient, or a gift; also no reward of his giving. He surrenders that gift to all beings, but does not apprehend those beings, or himself either. And, although he dedicates that gift to the supreme enlightenment, he does not apprehend any enlightenment. This is called the supra-mundane perfection of giving, (P265) and it is called “supra-mundane” because one s

world, departs from it, passes beyothe

difference between the worldly and the supra-mundane perfections of morality, patience, vigour, and concentration be unde

rstood. Sariputra : What is the worldly, and what the supra-mundane perfe

ction of wisdom? I 10,8c. THE WORLDLY

Subhuti : This is the worldly perfection of wisdomBodh

isattva gives a gift, leaning on a basis, i.e. he thinks that “I should suppress all niggardly thought in myself”. Leaning on the notions of self, being, and gift, he renounces all that he has, all inner and outer things, appropriated and un-appropriated, and there is nothing that he does not renounce. And that wholesome root (which results from this act of renunciation) he dedicates to the supreme enlightenment, after he has made it common to all beings, - but leaning on a basis. – He tends morality, and is established in the ascetic practices, while leaning on the body, speech, and thought as a basis. While he tends those ten ways of wholesome action, leaning on the views of self, a being and wholesomeness, he dedicates those moralities, made common to all beings, to an enlightenment which he has apprehended, and throughout basing himself on something. – He exalts not himself, nor depreciates others, and endures being ill-treated by all, while leaning on the views of self, a being, a patience. That wholesomeness he dedicates to the supreme enlightenment, after he has made it common to all beings, but leaning on a basis. – He exerts vigour, while apprehending body, thought, the equipment with merit, the equipment with cognition, a self and enlightenment, and he fancies himself for that exertion in vigour. Having made that (merit) common to all beings, he dedicates it to the supreme

243

enlightenment, while basing himself on something.

dliness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and impartiality. He enters into the trances and attainments and again emerges from them. But he derives relish from them and in consequence fancies himself for them. He makes the wholesome roots common to all beings and dedicates them to enlightenment, but always having some basis in view. – He develops emptiness, and he apprehends that everything from form to the enlightenment of a Buddha is empty, always basing himself on something. Those wholesome roots he makes common to all beings and dedicates them to the supreme enlightenment (P266), but by way of assuming a basis. – He confesses all the evil he has done, by way of assuming a basis, and rejoices at his own merit and that of others. For his own sake and

while basin himself on something. Without skill in means he dedicates the merit (fro

all-knowledge, having first made it common to calle

d the worldly perfection of wisdom. I 10,8d. THE SUPRA-MUNDANE PERFECTION OF WISDOM. What, on the other hand, is the supra-mundane perfection of wisdom? Through his non-apprehension of self, beings, gift, or enlightenment, and through the threefold purity, he cleanses the perfection of giving for enlightenment. Through his non-apprehension of self, being, morality, or enlightenment he cleanse the perfection of morality for enlightenment; and likewise the perfection of patience by the non-apprehension of self, beings, enduring, and enlightenment; the perfection of vigour by the non-apprehension of self, physical and mental vigour, merit and cognition, and enlightenment; the perfection of concentration by the non-apprehension of self, beings, trances and concentrations and attainments, and enlightenment; the perfection of wisdom by the non-apprehension of self, beings, all-dharmas, and enlightenment. He dedicates all wholesome roots to the supreme enlightenment, by means of a dedication which is undifferentiated, supreme, equal to the unequalled, unthinkable, incomparable, and measureless. This is called the supra-mundane perfection of wisdom. I 10,8e. CONCLUSION. Sariputra : What is a Bodhisattva’s path to enlightenment? (P267)

244

Subhuti : The four applications of mindfulness, and so on (all the 21 practices described in AA I9,14). *Sariputra : Of which perfection is that the doing? Subhuti : Of the perfection of wisdom. For the perfection of wisdom is the genetrix and recipient of all wholesome dharmas, be they the dharmas of Disciples, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas or Buddhas.* After training in perfect wisdom the Tathagatas of the past have known full enlightenment. The Tathagatas of the future will know full enlightenment after training in perfect wisdom. And those Tathagatas who at present in the world in the ten directions stand, hold, and maintain themselves, and demonstrate Dharma, all these also have known full enlightenment after training in just this perfection of wisdom.* If, when this perfection of wisdom is being taught, a Bodhisattva is not perplexed or stupefied, then one should know that he dwells in this dwelling, and that he is not lacking in this attention, i.e. in the attention which does not abandon all beings in order to protect them, and in the attention of the great compassion.

Sariputra : So it is, as you say. Such a Bodhisattvthis

dwelling, and is not lacking in this attention. This being so, Ven. Subhuti, all (P268) beings must already be Bodhisattvas. And why? Because all beings are not lacking in attention. Subhuti : Well said, Sariputra. And yet I must reprove you, for the Ven. Sariputra has grasped the matter correctly only as far as the words are concerned. And why? One should understand that the non-being-ness of attention results from that of beings; that the emptiness of attention, its lack of own-being, and its isolated-ness result from the emptiness of beings, their lack of own-being, their isolated-ness; that acts of attention do not undergo the process which leads to enlightenment in the same way in which beings do not undergo that process. Similarly one should understand that the non-being-ness, emptiness, etc. of attention results from the non-being-ness, emptiness, etc. of form, etc. It is by this method that a Bodhisattva, a great being, should be known as not lacking in this dwelling and in this kind of attention, which is the attention of the great compassion.* The Lord : Well said, Subhuti, well said. The perfection of wisdom of th

as you have, through

ou described it, so should a Bodhisattva, a great being course in the perf

245

Epil

Wisdom had been taught

by t six ways.

And

ogue. When this chapter of the Perfection of

he Ven. Subhuti, the great trichiliocosm shook in

the Lord smiled on that occasion. Subhuti : What, O Lord, is the cause, what the reason for the manifestation of a smile? The Lord : Just as in this world system the Tathagata expounds the Perfection of Wisdom, so the Tathagatas in all the ten directions, in incalculable and immeasurable world systems, also teach the Perfection of Wisdom to the Bodhisattvas, the great beings. (P269) When the Ven. Subhuti expounded this Perfection of Wisdom, twelve myriads of gods and men acquired through wisdom the patient acceptance of dharmas which fail to be produced. And when the Buddhas and Lords in the world systems in the ten directions all round taught this Perfection of Wisdom to the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, the hearts of countless beings were raised to full enlightenment.

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CHAPTER 22

THE FIRST SAKRA CHAPTER

II. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PATHS. II 1. The Eclipsing, etc. The Limbs of the Knowledge of the Paths. II 1,A. THE ECLIPSING OF THE GODS. Thereupon all the great kings in this great trichiliocosm were, together with many thousands of gods, present in that assembly. And so was Sakra, Chief of Go

247

exposition of the perfection of wisdom. How, then, Ven. Subhuti,

should a Bodhisattva, a d in the perfection of

wisdom, and what is the m of the “Bodhisattva,

the great being?

II 1,2. DEFINITION OF THE OBJECT.

Subhuti : Let me then, Kausika, through the Buddha’s might,

through the Buddha’s sustaining power, explain to you the

as, the great beings, and

how a Bodhisattva, a great being, should stand in perfect wisdom.

ghtenment, they should do so now. But those again

who have entered on the certainty of definite salvation (i.e. the

birth and think that they have

don

ASED ON THE FOUR

TRUTHS AS A PART OF THE PATH OF THE DISICPLES

at is the perfect wisdom of a Bodhisattva, a

origination), as (1) a thorn, (4) a

great being, stan perfection of wisdo

perfection of wisdom of the Bodhisattv

And those gods who have not yet raised their thought to the supreme enli

Arhats who have reached their last

e with it all), they are unable to raise their thought to the supreme enlightenment. And why? The flood of birth-and-death hems them in. II 1,3. PERVASION. And yet I confirm them also, if they also will raise their thought to the supreme enlightenment. II 1,4. OWN-BEING. I shall not obstruct them when they adopt this wholesome idea. II 1,5. ACTIVITY. For among distinguished dharmas one should uphold the most distinguished ones. II 2. The Knowledge of the Paths which Consist in the Cognition of the Path of the Disciples. II 2,1. THE DEFINITION OF THE SIXTEEN ASPECTS B,.

Therein, Kausika, whgrea

t being? (II 2, 1A The aspects of the truth of ill.) Here the Bodhisattva, the great being, with his production of thought associated with all-knowledge, attends to form, as (1) impermanent, (2) ill, (3) not-self, (4) quiet calm: (II 2, 1B Aspects of the truth of

disease, (2) a boil, (3) a

248

misfortune: (II 2, 1C. Aspects of the truth of ill and origination, taken separately, so as to arouse aversion) as (1) foreign, (2) by its nature a disturbance,; (II 2, 1D, as II 2, 1C, but so as to arouse dispassion) as (1)

calamity; and that without taking

ing, etc. As impermanent, etc. do come about the consciousness which is conditioned by the formative forces, the name-and-form which is conditioned by consciousness, etc. It is thus that the origination of all this great mass of ill takes place, and he attends to that as impermanent … a calamity, without however taking it as a basis. (II 2, 1F. Aspects of the truth of cessation.) With a production of thought associated with all-knowledge he attends to stopping of the formative forces which results from the stopping of ignorance, and that as (1) the absence of quiet calm, (2) isolated, (3) empty, signless, wishless, and unaffected. Because of the stopping

of ill takes place and he una

ffected, but without taking it as a basis, and with his attentions associated with all-knowledge. (II 2, 1G. Aspects of truth of the Path. (1) the Path, (2) the correc

(4) that which allows to go forth to deliverance.) MoreoverKau

sika, the Bodhisattva, the great being, with a production of ught associated with all-knowledge develops the applications of

mindfulness, he develops the Bu

ddha-dharmas in the same way; and so likewise he courses in the six perfections. Moreover, Kausika, the Bodhisattva, the gr

of Dharma softens the dharmas, moistens the, perfects, and augments them, he contemplates: withou

For what is, on the part of the Bodhisattva, the great being, the thought of a wholesome root that is not in tou

nlightenment. What is the thought of dedication that is not in touch with the thought of enlightenment or with the thought of the wholesome root; what is the thought of enlightenment that is not in touch with the thought of dedication. And why? That which is the thought of enlightenment that does not exist in the thought of dedication and cannot be apprehended in it; that which is the

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thought of dedication that does not exist in the thought of enlightenment and cannot be apprehended in it. This, Kausika, is the perfection of wisdom of the Bodhisattva, the great being, that he thus contemplates all dharmas and yet he does not settle down in any dharma or apprehends one. Sakra : How, Ven. Subhuti, is the thought of dedication not in touch with the thought of enlightenment? How is the thought of enlightenment not in touch with the thought of dedication? And how does in the thought of dedication the thought of enlightenment not exist, and cannot be apprehended in it? How does in the thought of enlightenment the thought of dedication not exist, and cannot be apprehended in it? Subhuti : What is the thought of dedication (or, of turning over) that is no thought, what is the thought of enlightenment, that is no thought. For no-thoughtness is not turned over into no-thoughtness. Thus what is no-thought, that is unthinkable, and what is unthinkable, that is no-thought, and therefore no-thoughtness is not turned over into no-thoughtness. This is the perfection of wisdom of the Bodhisattva, the great being. II 2,2. THE AIDS TO PENETRATION. II 2,2,1. HEAT. The Lord : Well said, Subhuti, well said by you, Subhuti, you who expound the perfection of wisdom to the Bodhisattva, the great beings and encourage them. Subhuti : Grateful should I be, O Lord, not ungrateful. For the Lord, in the past, when he coursed in the course of a Bodhisattva, has in the presence of the Tathagatas of the past been instructed and admonished in the six perfections by the Disciples, they have been shown to him, he has been initiated into them, made to rejoice at them, has been encouraged by them, introduced to them, established in them; and in consequence the Lord has, after he had definitely become a Bodhisattva, trained in the six perfections and fully known the supreme enlightenment. Just so, O Lord, we also should instruct and admonish the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, in the six perfections, should show them to them, encourage and impel them, make them rejoice in them, introduce them to them and establish them in them. And by us also instructed and admonished, etc., the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, will fully know the supreme enlightenment.

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Subhuti then said to Sakra: Therefore then, Kausika, listen and attend well. I will teach you how a Bodhisattva should stand in perfect wisdom, i.e. how he should not stand in it. Form is empty of form; feeling, etc. The Bodhisattva is empty of the Bodhisattva. It is thus that the emptiness of for

ings-perception-impulses-and-consciousness, and the emptiness of the Bodhisattva are not two nor divided. It is thus that the Bodhisattva, the great being, should stand in perfect wisdom. Moreover, the eye is empty of the eye, the ear, etc. It is thus that the emptiness of the eye, etc. to: the emptiness of the Bodhisattva are not two nor divided. It is thus that the Bodhisattva, the great being sh

or the physical elements, the 12 links, the 6 perfections, the 18 kinds of emptiness, the applications of mindfulness, etc. Moreover, concentration is empty of concentration, the dharani-doors are empty of the dharani-doors, the Bodhisattva is empty of the Bodhisattva. It is thus that … Moreover, the disciple vehicle is empty of the disciple vehicle, etc. etc.

Sakra : How then, Ven. Subh

Subhuti : He

ing, etc. By way of making nothing into a basis. He should not stand in the eye, in sight, objects, in sight consciousness, in sight contact, nor in the feeling born from

etc., to: the Buddha-dharmas. He should not stand in the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: in Buddha-hood, by way of making nothing into a basis. II 2,2,3. PATIENCE. He should not take his stand on the idea that ‘form is permanent or impermanent’, ‘ease’ etc. to: ‘not isolated’, ‘form is empty or not empty’. So for feeling, etc. for everything up to: the knowledge of all modes. He should not take his stand on the notion that the fruit of a Stream-winner, etc. to: Buddha-hood derives its dignity from the Unconditioned. He should not take stand on the idea that the Stream-winner, etc. to: the Tathagata is worthy of gift, by way of making nothing into a basis.

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II 2

: the Buddha-eye I shall

produce’. ‘All concentrations I shall perfect’. ‘I shall play with

tion I may desire’. ‘All dharani-doors I shall

perf

of a Tathagata I shall

acco

ctively in the families of gods or men, or of

those who proceed with a single interval … He should not stand in

tream-winner is no longer doomed to fall into

in the cognition of the

knowledge of the paths, by not making it into a basis. He should

,2,4. HIGHEST MUNDANE DHARMAS. Moreover, the Bodhisattva, the great being, should not stand in the first, etc. to: the tenth stage, by way of making it into a basis. He also should not stand in the following ideas: ‘having stood in the first thought of enlightenment I shall fulfil the six perfections, etc. to: the paths, and I shall enter on the certainty of a Bodhisattva’. ‘I shall enter on the certainty of a Bodhisattva, and, having listened to the Buddhas and Lords, so as to see, praise, worship, and honour them and so as to hear the Dharma from them, I shall make progress in fathoming its Thusness and shall demonstrate the Dharma to others’. ‘Whichever Buddha-fields of those Buddhas and Lords there may be, I shall perfect them’. ‘I shall mature beings for the supreme enlightenment’. ‘Having gone to innumerable and incalculable world systems, I shall honour and serve the Tathagatas there and shall worship them with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, etc.’. ‘Countless beings I shall establish in the supreme enlightenment’. ‘The five eyes I shall produce’. ‘The fleshly eye, etc. to

whichever concentra

ect’. ‘The Unlimited, the trances, the formless attainments I shall accomplish’. ‘The ten powers

mplish, etc. to: the 18 special dharmas of a Buddha, the great friendliness, the great compassion’. ‘The thirty-two marks of a superman I shall accomplish in my body’. ‘The eighty subsidiary marks I shall accomplish’. He should not stand in the idea of faith-follower, dharma-follower, the eighth-lowest saint, or that the Stream-winner will be reborn seven times at the most, or of those who are reborn respe

the ideas that ‘the Sthe

states of woe’, ‘as a Once-Returner I will, after I have once more come back into this world, make an end of ill’, ‘the Never-Returner has progressed to the realization of the fruit of never-Returner’, ‘the Arhat has progressed to the realization of the fruit of an Arhat’. He should not stand in the idea of a ‘Pratyekabuddha’. He should not stand in the idea that ‘as a Bodhisattva, having transcended the level of the Disciples and the level of the Pratyekabuddhas, I shall stand on the level of a Bodhisattva’. He should not stand

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not stand in the idea that ‘having fully

des, having made an end of all defilements and the residues relating to them, I will having as a Tathagata, etc. fully known the supreme enlightenment, turn the wheel of Dharma’. ‘Having done a Buddha’s work, I shall lead countless beings to Nirvana’, also therein he should not stand. And also not in the idea that ‘having stood in the four roads to psychic power and in the faculties, I shall enter on such a concentration that through it I shall abide for aeons countless as the sands of the Ganges’; ‘an unlimited lifespan I shall have’; ‘the 32 marks of a superman, each single mark …’; ‘my single Buddha-field shall be as large as countless world systems, in all the ten directions, taken together’; ‘for me the great trichiliocosm will become adamantine’, ‘from my Bodhi-tree will emanate an odour so powerful (?) that no one will have any more greed, hate, or delusion, and that no one will have a Disciple-thought or a Pratyekabuddha-thought, but all these beings shall be fixed on the supreme enlightenment; and these beings who will smell this odour, they will have no illness whatever’; ‘in that Buddha-field even the word ‘form’ will be unknown, or the words ‘feeling’, ‘perception’, ‘impulse’ or ‘consciousness’, or the words ‘perfection of giving’, etc. to: ‘applications of mindfulness’, etc. It is thus, Kausika, that the Bodhisattva, the great being, should not stand in the perfection of wisdom, by making in into a basis. Thereupon the Ven. Sariputra thought to himself: How then should the Bodhisattva, the great being, stand in perfect wisdom? Subhuti read his thoughts and said: What do you think, Sariputra, where did the Tathagata stand? Sariputra : Nowhere did the Tathagata stand, for the mind of the Tathagata, etc., sought no support. He stood neither in the conditioned element, no