Toh 54The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Exposition on the Universal Gateway”

Summary

In The Exposition on the Universal Gateway, the
bodhisattva Amalagarbha arrives in this world from a distant pure land to
request teachings from the buddha Śākyamuni. The Buddha proceeds to explain to
all assembled bodhisattvas, monks, and lay devotees the manner in which the five
aggregates are equal to meditative absorption. He also explains how the various classes of
beings and all other phenomena are absorption as well. In conclusion, he lists
the names of various absorptions and the benefits one obtains upon attaining
these states.

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi
Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Oriane Lavolé who also wrote the
introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan
and edited the text.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

The Exposition on the Universal Gateway takes
place at Vulture Peak Mountain where a celestial bodhisattva named
Amalagarbha arrives with a large retinue to request teachings from the
Buddha Śākyamuni. In response, the Buddha delivers a teaching that describes
how all phenomena are forms of absorption. The Buddha first points out how
each of the aggregates are absorption and then he proceeds to describe how
all beings and phenomena are absorption as well. The reason why phenomena
are absorption is their shared empty nature. In short, emptiness is the intrinsic nature of absorption as well as all other phenomena.

Following this teaching, Mañjuśrī asks the Buddha to list the names of
various absorptions for the benefit of the assembled bodhisattvas. In
response, Śākyamuni mentions a number of absorptions as well as the
spiritual accomplishments that they bring. Mañjuśrī rejoices in this
teaching and makes aspiration prayers to benefit all those who hear this
teaching. Suddenly, however, the demon Māra appears and laments this
situation. He begs the Buddha not to bless the teaching he has just
delivered, since that would result in Māra’s realm becoming empty. The
Buddha surprisingly grants Māra this request and so the demon joyfully
returns with his aims fulfilled. In answer to Mañjuśrī’s astonishment at
this unexpected turn of events, the Buddha delivers a short teaching on the
nondual nature of all phenomena, which delights the whole congregation and
reassures everyone that everything is well, nevertheless.

To our knowledge, a Sanskrit version of this sūtra no longer exists. However,
an early Sanskrit prototype of the text appears to have circulated in the
southern parts of Central Asia as an independent scripture, not yet part of
the Heap of Jewels collection, as early as the mid-fifth century. Khotanese references to this
sūtra from that time also seem to confirm its Sanskrit title, which is
otherwise not attested elsewhere.

The sūtra was translated twice into Chinese. The first of the Chinese
translations (Taishō 315) was produced in 287 ce by
the monk Dharmarakṣa (c. 233–310 ce). The second translation (Taishō 310-10)
was produced by the renowned South Indian translator Bodhiruci (?–727)
between 706 and 713 ce. This is
the version that was included in the Chinese collection of the Heap of
Jewels.

In Tibet, the text was translated together with the other scriptures in the
Heap of Jewels collection. The Tibetan colophon lists the translators as the
Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi, and the Tibetan translator
Yeshé Dé, who were active translators in the late eighth and early ninth
centuries. The
sūtra appears to have had limited popularity in Tibet, as it is not quoted
widely in commentarial treatises.

This English translation was prepared based on the Tibetan translation found
in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace manuscript and the
Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma).

The Translation

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Exposition on the Universal Gateway

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Vulture Peak
Mountain by Rājagṛha, together with a great saṅgha of eight hundred monks,
and with forty-two thousand bodhisattvas. At that time, a bodhisattva great
being by the name Amalagarbha, accompanied by ninety-two thousand other
bodhisattvas, set out from the world known as Immaculate Conduct—the
buddhafield of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Saṃkusumita. They traveled to Vulture Peak Mountain,
here in this Sahā world, where the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect
buddha Śākyamuni dwelled.

As the bodhisattva great being Amalagarbha arrived in the sky, surrounded and
attended by a great assembly of bodhisattvas, the Blessed One noticed him.
As he caught sight of him, the Blessed One thought, “The bodhisattva great
being Amalagarbha has been dispatched here by the thus-gone, worthy, perfect
buddha Saṃkusumita in order to receive the Dharma teaching called The Exposition on the Universal Gateway.
Therefore, I, for my part, should gather the bodhisattvas.” Then, because
the Blessed One formed this intent, all bodhisattva great beings residing in
boundless, infinite worlds arrived at Vulture Peak Mountain here in this
Sahā world to meet the Blessed One.

Upon arrival, they bowed their heads to the Blessed One’s feet and sat down
to one side. All the bodhisattva great beings at Vulture Peak
Mountain who had retired for meditation
also gathered. The bodhisattva great being Amalagarbha then went before the
thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Śākyamuni, holding a thousand-petaled
lotus flower made of the seven precious substances. He bowed his head to the
Blessed One’s feet and offered him the thousand-petaled lotus.

Amalagarbha then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, the thus-gone,
worthy, perfect buddha Saṃkusumita from the world Immaculate Conduct
inquiries about the Blessed One’s health. Does the Blessed One have but
little trouble, grief, and agitation? Is he in
good health, strong, and at ease? Is the Blessed One free of illness and
does he have but few troubles?” When he had thus inquired after the Blessed
One’s health, he added, “Might the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect
buddha Śākyamuni deliver the Dharma teaching pertaining to the inconceivable
Exposition on the Universal Gateway to the
bodhisattva great beings?” Then, having asked the Blessed One in this way,
the bodhisattva great being Amalagarbha sat down cross-legged in the sky in
the midst of his retinue of bodhisattvas.

At that time, Prince Mañjuśrī was also present within that assembly. He rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one
shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms, he bowed toward
the Blessed One and said, “In order to foster the bodhisattvas, I request
the Blessed One, the Thus-Gone One, to thoroughly expound the Dharma
teaching pertaining to the inconceivable Exposition on
the Universal Gateway. Blessed One, I beseech you. In
the past, I received this teaching from the thus-gone, worthy, perfect
buddha Bright Lamp and thereby developed eighty-four sextillion absorptions.
I also understood seventy-seven sextillion approaches to accomplishing
dhāraṇīs. That being the case, may the Blessed One also teach this
thoroughly in order to foster these bodhisattvas.”

In response, the Blessed One said the following to Prince Mañjuśrī: “To this
effect, Mañjuśrī, listen carefully and keep in mind what I explain.”

Prince Mañjuśrī answered, “Blessed One, so be it.”

He listened closely as the Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great
beings should understand form to be absorption. They should understand sound
to be absorption. They should understand scent to be absorption. They should
understand taste to be absorption. They should understand tactile objects to
be absorption. They should understand the objects of the mind to be
absorption.

“They should understand women’s figures to be absorption. They should understand men’s figures to be absorption. They should understand boys’ figures to
be absorption. They should understand girls’ figures to be absorption. They
should understand the gods’ figures to be absorption. They should understand
the nāgas’ figures to be absorption. They should understand the yakṣas’
figures to be absorption. They should understand the gandharvas’ figures to
be absorption. They should understand the asuras’ figures to be absorption.
They should understand the garuḍas’ figures to be absorption. They should
understand the kinnaras’ figures to be absorption. They should understand
the mahoragas’ figures to be absorption. They should understand the hell
beings’ figures to be absorption. They should understand animals’ figures to
be absorption. They should understand the figures of beings in the
world of the Lord of Death to be absorption.

“They should understand attachment to be absorption. They should understand
anger to be absorption. They should understand ignorance to be absorption.
They should understand all virtues to be absorption. They should understand
all nonvirtues to be absorption. They should understand all conditioned
phenomena to be absorption. They should understand all unconditioned
phenomena to be absorption. In this manner, they should understand all
phenomena to be absorption. Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who obtain
all such absorptions have omnipresent minds and are trained in the Dharma
teaching of The Exposition on the Universal
Gateway.

“Mañjuśrī, in this regard, how should bodhisattvas understand form to be
absorption?

“Form is said to be like a bubble:

Its essence cannot be found.

Since it is essenceless and cannot be grasped,

I have taught it to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how one should understand form to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, in this regard, how should bodhisattvas understand sound to be
absorption?

“Sound is like an echo:

It has no substance.

I know it to have no distinguishable parts

And to be devoid of characteristics, with no particularities.

“It has no characteristics or origin,

And is hollow and unconditioned.

Knowing it to be like an echo,

I have taught it to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, that is how you should understand sound to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand scent to be absorption?

“Just as the bottom of the ocean

Can never be reached in any way,

You could smell for ten million eons,

But there would still be no satisfying the nose.

“The olfactory cognition cannot be apprehended;

It is deceiving and nonexistent.

Were it to be real,

It could rapidly be contented.

“Since it is imperceptible and unreal,

The nose is known to be nonexistent and hollow.

Knowing it to be void and empty,

I have taught it to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand scent to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand taste to be absorption?

“The tongue is neither pungent nor bitter;

It is neither sour nor salty.

The tongue just changes in accordance

With the conditions it encounters.

Taste is known to arise through causes

And in dependence on conditions.

Knowing it to be inconceivable,

I have taught it to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand taste to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand tactile objects to be
absorption?

“Tactile objects, which arise out of cognition,

Are not inherently existent.

Softness and
roughness

Are created by conditions.

“Tactile objects are baseless;

Their way of abiding is devoid of self.

Knowing them to be a combination of composite factors,

I have taught them to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand tactile objects to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand objects of the mind to be
absorption?

“Beings of the trichiliocosm

All dwell in the same condition.

Though they cognize the range of mental objects,

They cannot find their substance.

“That which is aggregated and amassed

Has no basis in cognition.

Though cognition displays various colors,

These exist neither outside nor inside.

“Mental objects do not abide and have no basis.

Like an illusion, they are insubstantial.

Knowing them to be nonexistent and hollow,

I have taught them to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, that is how you should understand mental objects to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand the female figure to be
absorption?

“Though women do not exist

Within the four major elements,

The immature, with their confused minds,

Engage in trifling desires.

“Though illusory women are without marks,

They appear as the female figure.

Those men who are enclosed in darkness

Give rise to strong attachment toward them.

“While they give rise to desirous thoughts

Regarding illusory women,

These women are nonexistent.

“It is this mistaken mind

That has made the simple-minded

Circle around for countless eons.

“Therefore, if you know insubstantiality,

All women are without characteristics.

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to the female figure.

“Mañjuśrī, that is how you should understand the female figure to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand the male figure to be
absorption?

“When men declare:

‘This is a woman and I am a man,’

In that instant, their minds

Become desirous and mistaken.

“Yet mind is formless and imperceptible.

It is indemonstrable as woman or man.

It is conceptual superimpositions

That give rise to the perception of man.

“Men declare: ‘This is a woman and I am a man.’

Yet all such imputed notions

I have taught to be like a mirage,

And no man exists therein.

“Since the nature of man is illusory,

He has arisen out of nonexistence.

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to the male figure.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand the male figure to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand boys’ figures to be absorption?

“If there is no sapling,

How can a flower appear?

If there is no flower,

The fruit cannot grow either.

“Likewise, since women are nonexistent,

Boys cannot be apprehended either.

Those who are under the sway of their imaginations,

Falsely conceive what they call boy.

“If you know woman to be unborn,

Boys have no origin either.

Realizing all entities to be nonexistent,

I have taught boys to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand boys’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand girls’ figures to be
absorption?

“If a palm tree’s crown is cut off,

It can never grow again.

Knowing this, the wise

Will not wish for any fruits to appear.

“Likewise, once the wise know that women

Have also never been born,

They no longer wrongly think,

‘Their basis, a girl, has been
born.’

“Knowing that when a seed is parched

It can no longer grow,

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to girls’ figures.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand girls’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand gods’ figures to be absorption?

“Gods are the result of virtuous action

Produced by virtuous thoughts.

Pure minds cause

The manifestation of beautiful gods.

“Their delightful palaces

Are not created by anyone else.

The mandārava flower too

Is not made by anyone else.

“Produced by illusory action,

These appearances are inconceivable.

The beautiful glitter of beryl gems

Is also false and untrue.

“Knowing that gods manifest in an unreal manner

And are therefore unreal,

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to the gods’ figures.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand gods’ figures to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand nāgas’ figures to be
absorption?

“By becoming intolerant,

They manifest the forms of nonexistent clouds.

Although they do not remain in those clouds,

They bring down heavy rainfall.

“They fill up the seas,

Rivers, and oceans here in Jambudvīpa.

Yet, whether in the beginning or the end,

This water is devoid of origin.

“All beings are similar to that water—

They are skilled in various undertakings

And display various karmic actions,

But these karmic actions have no origin.

“The wise know these illusions,

Which delude the immature, to be unarisen.

Thus, since the untrue appears as true,

I have taught nāgas to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, that is how you should understand nāgas’ figures to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand yakṣas’ figures to be
absorption?

“From the transformation of the mind

Manifests a terrifying figure.

Though its body may be great,

It was created by a single mind.

“Fear does not exist within the mind;

It appears from a combination of factors.

Look at the inconceivable array of hideous forms

Arising out of nonexistent action!

“Knowing this inconceivable array of hideous forms

To be utterly empty,

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to the yakṣas’ figures.

“Mañjuśrī, that is how you should understand yakṣas’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand gandharvas’ figures to be
absorption?

“Though these phenomena are devoid of any going,

They are given the name of wanderers.

Knowing wanderers to go nowhere,

I have taught absorption with reference to gandharvas.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand gandharvas’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand asuras’ figures to be
absorption?

“The asura, sealed with the letter a,

Truly arises from the unborn.

Since they are unceasing and non-arising,

Absorption is taught with reference to the asuras.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand asuras’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand garuḍas’ figures to be
absorption?

“Grasping onto the ungraspable,

We apply labels as we speak.

Since neither name nor form are existent,

I have taught absorption with reference to the garuḍas.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand garuḍas’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand kinnaras’ figures to be
absorption?

“It is by uncreated, created actions

That the kinnaras are produced.

Knowing them to be unborn,

I have taught absorption with reference to the kinnaras.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand the kinnaras’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand mahoragas’ figures to be
absorption?

“By whatever names these phenomena

Are variously posited in the worlds,

The phenomena do not exist there;

Everything is imagined out of nonexistence.

“If you know everything to be fabricated,

There are naturally no concepts.

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to the mahoragas’ figures.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand mahoragas’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand the hell beings’ figures to be
absorption?

“Stainless, pure, and hollow,

They have no maker whatsoever.

They are produced by their own thoughts,

Which have no existence either.

“Hell is clean, immaculate,

Pure, true, and luminous.

It is beyond all characteristics and marks,

Like the seat of awakening—thus I know.

“Knowing hell to be beyond attributes and unarisen,

Similar to the sky,

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to the hell beings’ figures.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand hell beings’ figures to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand figures in the animal realm to
be absorption?

“For instance, cloud formations

Appear in various colors;

Though the clouds have no real color,

They fool the unwise.

“Likewise, since the mind does not exist

It is like the form of a cloud:

In the realms of animals,

It displays bodies in various forms.

“Karmic actions are of an illusory
nature.

I know them to be unarisen and beyond characteristics.

This statement on the peace of absorption

I have made with reference to animals’ figures.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand figures in the animal
realm to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand the figures in the world of the
Lord of Death to be absorption?

“Black misdeeds and objectionable deeds

And white irreproachable deeds

Have all become mixed up

In terms of the best, the middling, and the worst.

“Then, in the world of the Lord of Death,

Beings suffer and spin around in confusion.

Yet there is no realm of the Lord of Death—

It is inherently empty.

“Like experiences in a dream,

It is without beginning or completion.

Since the realm of the Lord of Death is nonexistent,

I have taught it to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand the figures in the world of the
Lord of Death to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand desire to be absorption?

“Desire surges from the imagination;

Those fancies too are unarisen.

That which has no arising has no abiding—

Its location can never be determined.

“Since it does not abide and has no location,

Desire is like the sky.

Yet immature defiled beings

Imagine it to be affliction.

“This phenomenon, which knows no affliction,

Is then designated by the word desire.

Were one to search in all ten directions,

One would not find its substance.

“This insubstantial desire

Is feared by confused, childish beings.

Those who fear where there is no danger

Can know no happiness.

“For instance, some people

Might perceive the sky as something frightening.

Terrified, they will run away, exclaiming,

‘I must not see the sky!’

“Yet, since space is omnipresent,

No one can be free from it.

Corrupted, immature beings

Imagine it falsely.

“Thus, childish beings who do not know

Phenomena to be like the sky

Yearn to rid themselves

Of insubstantial desire.

“Since desire is like the sky

No one can be freed from it.

Perfectly freed and liberated,

Phenomena are like nirvāṇa.

“The buddhas of the past,

The guides of the present,

And the perfect buddhas yet to come

All have desire as their domain of experience.

“When you have known desire to be empty,

There is no deliverance from it whatsoever.

It is those who perceive desire as something frightening

Who think they must free themselves from it.

“Being a limit of nothing whatsoever,

The limit of desire is luminosity.

As it is without characteristics, permanent, and sameness —

I see it as the seat of awakening.

“Beings who perceive it as existent

Aim to diminish desire.

Imagining the nonexistent,

They imagine its abandonment.

“ ‘I must abandon desire’—

Giving rise to such a conception,

They would speak of its abandonment;

But such is these beings’ mere conception.

“The limit of desire defies thought

And is indestructible.

Thus it is equal to the limit of reality.

So, do not think of being freed
from it!

“If one were freed from desire,

One would be freed from emptiness.

Desire and emptiness

Are not two separate things.

“In this way, these beings imagine

The birth of the unborn.

Therefore, to such immature beings whose consciousness is dualistic,

I have taught abandonment.

“Since it is unborn,

Desire is just a label.

Names have no desire,

And no one at all is attached to a name.

“Knowing desire to be without attachment,

And seeing it as limitless emptiness,

The wise do not see liberation

As a way to eliminate desire.

“Knowing that desire is like the qualities of awakening,

And like nirvāṇa,

I have taught immaculate absorption

With reference to the word desire.

“Desire rests on the sphere of peace.

Knowing it to be complete peace,

To the wise ones I have taught

Absorption with reference to the word desire.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how bodhisattvas should understand desire to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand anger to be absorption?

“As anger comes from rejecting,

It is also an affliction born from conditions.

This self, which has arisen from a lack of self,

Comes about through the aggregation of many things.

“Anger at harsh words

Comes about like lethal poison.

Words are simply the nature of sound

And therefore completely nonexistent.

“For instance, fire is kindled through the meeting

Of the grinding stick and grinding support.

Without these materials coming together,

Fire cannot be.

“Likewise, from unpleasant words

Arises vain anger;

But if you examine these hollow words,

You will find no anger there.

“Anger does not come from words.

It does not reside inside,

Nor does anger arise from the outside—

Since it is without origination, it is hollow.

“The coming together of causes

Is the source of anger.

If the causes come apart,

Anger is nowhere to be found.

“People may seek

Curd and milk, churn it with a stick,

And create the conditions

For butter to appear.

“Likewise, unpleasant words

Are sources of hollow anger:

Because of their illusions,

The unwise get fired up about them.

“Knowing anger to be caused by imputation,

And therefore utterly insubstantial,

I have made this statement on the peace of absorption

With reference to the word anger.

“Knowing anger to be equal to the limit of reality,

Rooted in suchness,

And similar to the realm of phenomena,

I have taught about absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand anger to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand delusion to be absorption?

“Delusion comes from ignorance;

Ignorance too is nonexistent.

Where there is no delusion,

There can be no confusion.

“Beings confuse what is without confusion,

And perceive attachment where there is none.

This is just like a childish being

Vainly trying to tie a knot in space.

“Labeling nonexistent phenomena

As defilements:

This [problem] of childish beings is outrageous.

It is indeed the most heinous of evil deeds.

“Just as someone

May examine the sky

For ten million eons

And find no aggregates in it—

“Likewise, due to confusion

The origin of immature beings is inconceivable.

Ignorance does not heap up—

It cannot fill anything up.

“One may try to measure the sky,

But it has no beginning.

The sky cannot be filled by anything:

It is immeasurable.

“Likewise, for thousands of eons

Beings have been filled with ignorance;

Still, they are never being filled,

And they are never satisfied in the slightest.

“When a person who uses a bellow

First empties it, expelling its air, and

Having compressed it, opens it up again,

Nothing is to be found inside it.

“Likewise, desire is like a bellow:

Those who act out of delusion

Can never find satisfaction,

But only pursue further desires.

“Ignorance is said to be nonexistent:

It is uprooted and insubstantial,

Rootless and without location;

Therefore, ignorance is inexhaustible.

“Since ignorance is inexhaustible,

Its end cannot be found.

Therefore, I cannot make it disappear

For all sentient beings.

“To make an analogy,

Even if I were to remain alive

For inconceivably many tens of millions of eons

And every single day

“Cause as many beings as there are in a trichiliocosm

To pass into nirvāṇa,

Though I may succeed in this,

The realms of beings would still not be depleted.

“Created by ignorance,

The realms of beings are without marks.

Ignorance is like an illusion,

And its end can therefore not be found.

“Since Buddha is the same as ignorance,

I have taught that they are no different.

It is confused, childish beings

Who have given me the name Buddha.

“Omniscience and ignorance are the same;

All ignorance is nonexistent.

Ignorance is the same as all beings,

And all beings are inconceivable.

“Inconceivability and ignorance

Are thus imputed by thought.

All of the mind is inconceivable,

And has no limit.

“Since ignorance is immeasurable,

One cannot find its origin.

Without an origin,

How can it arise?

“If ignorance is unborn,

How could it ever cause confusion?

How could it ever cause confusion

Is how it also is with all buddhas.

“Knowing that they are neither different nor separate,

And that all phenomena are nondual,

I made this statement on the peace of absorption

With reference to the word ignorance.

“When I came to know sameness,

I [understood] that ignorance was the same as it.

Knowing all of these to be the same,

Understand absorption accordingly.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand ignorance to be absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand all nonvirtues to be
absorption?

“The features of being desirous,

And the turbulence of being angry,

As well as being ignorant—

Know them all to be absorption.

“The production of any affliction

Is absorption—be confident of that!

Afflictions are false and unreal;

Meditate on them all in this way.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand all nonvirtues to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand all virtues to be
absorption?

“Whatever virtues beings may have,

And howsoever their minds and conduct may be,

All conduct is but one conduct;

Know absorption to be like this!

“Knowing the conduct of all beings

To be but one performance,

I have made this statement on the peace of absorption

With reference to the word all.

“Mañjuśrī, in this way, you should understand all virtues to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand all conditioned phenomena to be
absorption?

“Formations are not formations.

In terms of numerical estimation,

They are uncountable and immeasurable—

Know absorption to be so.

“Knowing formations to be immeasurable,

Without body or substance,

I have made this statement on the peace of absorption

With reference to all formations.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand all conditioned phenomena to be
absorption.

“Mañjuśrī, how should bodhisattvas understand all unconditioned phenomena to
be absorption?

“Since this Dharma is naturally peaceful,

It is beyond number.

I have taught that peace formed by ignorance

Is formed by absorption.

“Knowing everything conditioned to be inexpressible

And uncreated,

I have taught such

To all beings who are attached to words.

“Mañjuśrī, this is how you should understand all unconditioned phenomena to
be absorption.”

As he completed these verses, thus delivering this inconceivable teaching,
ninety-two thousand bodhisattvas gained the acceptance of phenomena being
unborn. Seventy-two sextillion gods formed the resolve to attain unsurpassed
and perfect awakening. Thirty-six thousand monks liberated their minds from
the defilements, without further appropriation. Six thousand two hundred
nuns also formed the resolve to achieve unsurpassed and perfect awakening.
Eight million one hundred thousand male lay practitioners formed the resolve
to achieve unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Four million two hundred
thousand female lay practitioners also formed the resolve to reach
unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

Then Prince Mañjuśrī said to the Blessed One, “If those bodhisattvas with
sharp faculties who have come here hear the names of some absorptions, they
will attain illumination in all phenomena. They will be impervious to all
the gods belonging to the entourage of Māra and to those who hold the view
that apprehends the person. Through a single letter, they will understand
all letters, and through all letters, they will understand one letter. They will
become skilled in teaching the Dharma to all beings with unimpeded confident
eloquence. They will gain acceptance of the profound Dharma. They
will understand all conduct to be of a single defining characteristic. They
will achieve an unobscured state through the four correct discriminations. I
beseech the Blessed Ones to teach the names of these absorptions.”

To this the Blessed One responded, “Mañjuśrī, to that end, listen carefully
and keep in mind what I shall say.”

Prince Mañjuśrī answered, “Blessed One, so be it.” He then listened as the Blessed
One had directed.

The Blessed One then said, “Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called
the infinite immaculate. If bodhisattvas obtain
this absorption, they will reveal all forms to be pure.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called swift travel.
If bodhisattvas obtain this absorption, they will outshine the light of the
sun and the moon.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called source of
light. If bodhisattvas obtain this absorption, they will
overwhelm Śakra and Brahmā in their splendor.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called showing the
land. If bodhisattvas obtain this absorption, they will
pacify the desire, anger, and ignorance of all their assembled retinues.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called unobstructed
light. If bodhisattvas obtain this absorption, they will
illuminate all buddha realms.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called forgetting no
Dharma. If they obtain this absorption, bodhisattvas will
retain all the Dharma teachings taught by the Buddha and teach them to
others as well.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called imitating the pleasant
sound of the lion’s roar. If they obtain this absorption,
bodhisattvas will make themselves heard all the way up to the
Brahmā realm.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called truly creating all forms
of joy, contentment, and satisfaction. If they obtain this
absorption, bodhisattvas will gladden the various minds and thoughts of all
sentient beings.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called captivating to behold and
greatly joyous. If they obtain this absorption, bodhisattvas
will become captivating to behold and to listen to.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called source of inconceivable
qualities, wellspring of the precious domain of wisdom, singular stream
free of affliction. If they obtain this absorption,
bodhisattvas will be able to display all miracles and subdue all beings.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called the symbol of all
languages. If they obtain this absorption, bodhisattvas will
understand all languages, expressions, and signs. They will reveal a single
letter through all letters, and all letters through a single letter.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called accumulation and
demonstration of all merit and roots of virtue arisen from ripened
action. If they obtain this absorption, bodhisattvas will
remain in equipoise without saying anything. Without uttering a single
sound, they will cause all beings to hear the words
Buddha, Dharma,
Saṅgha, hearers,
solitary buddhas,
bodhisattvas, and perfections.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called the exalted king of all
dhāraṇīs. If they obtain this absorption, bodhisattvas will
know how to engage in the accomplishment of infinite dhāraṇīs.

“Mañjuśrī, there is the absorption called the array of confident
eloquence in all Dharma teachings. If they obtain
this absorption, bodhisattvas will become confidently eloquent in all
utterances, languages, sounds, and expressions.”

Then Prince Mañjuśrī said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I have an insight
to share regarding the unique description of qualities expressed in this
Dharma teaching.”

The Blessed One responded, “Mañjuśrī, please share your insight.”

Mañjuśrī then said, “Blessed One, I wish that those bodhisattvas who are free
of doubt and hesitation and who teach, hold, recite, integrate, and
authentically and extensively expound this Dharma teaching to others,
undoubtedly achieve confident eloquence in this very lifetime. I wish that
they obtain swift confidence, vast confidence, confidence in the profound,
unforgetting confidence, and variegated confidence. I wish that their minds
become free from all animosity toward any sentient being. Why do I make that
wish? It is because the accomplishment of this Dharma teaching depends on
precisely this conduct.”

The Blessed One then approved of Prince Mañjuśrī, saying “Mañjuśrī,
excellent, excellent. Your words are well spoken. Mañjuśrī, for instance, it
is incontrovertible that generosity yields great wealth. It is
incontrovertible that discipline leads to rebirth in the upper realms. It is
incontrovertible that study leads to great insight. It is incontrovertible
that familiarization leads to separation. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, it is
incontrovertible that this Dharma teaching will bring forth confident
eloquence in this very lifetime.

“Mañjuśrī, the rising sun dispels all the thick black of darkness. Mañjuśrī,
likewise, you should wish for confident eloquence to arise as soon as this
Dharma teaching is delivered.

“Mañjuśrī, for instance, bodhisattvas who abide on the seat of awakening are
certain to fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Likewise,
Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who recite this Dharma teaching are
certain to achieve confident eloquence in this very lifetime.

“Mañjuśrī, therefore, bodhisattva great beings who wish to achieve confident
eloquence in this very lifetime should without doubt or hesitation obtain
this Dharma teaching, hold it, recite it, read it, understand it, and
expound it extensively and correctly to others.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Amalagarbha said to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, after you pass into parinirvāṇa, I too will work to ensure
that those bodhisattvas who have no doubt or hesitation and who retain,
hold, read, understand, and correctly and extensively expound this Dharma
teaching to others achieve confident eloquence in it.”

At this point, the evil Māra came weeping and wailing before the Blessed One
and said, “Blessed One, if the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha is
compassionate and bestows
happiness to suffering beings, then I beseech the Blessed One not to further
bless this Dharma teaching, so as to dispel my own mental anguish. Blessed
One, when the Blessed One was seated on the seat of awakening, and now as he
delivered this Dharma teaching, I was tormented by intense
suffering, anguish, and sorrow. Blessed One, if any sentient being who so
much as hears this Dharma teaching will proceed irreversibly to unsurpassed and
perfect awakening, then no need to mention that those who not only hear but
retain, hold, read, understand, and expound this Dharma teaching extensively
and correctly to others will likewise proceed irreversibly to unsurpassed and
perfect awakening. All these beings will fully pass into nirvāṇa. Therefore,
Blessed One, my māra realm will become empty. If the thus-gone, worthy,
perfect buddha is compassionate and bestows happiness onto those who suffer,
then I beseech the Blessed One to relieve my suffering. I beseech the
Well-Gone One to relieve my suffering.”

Then the Blessed One responded to the evil Māra, “Evil one, do not fear. Not
all sentient beings will fully pass into nirvāṇa. Evil one, nor will I bless
this Dharma teaching, so do not fear.”

When the Blessed One had consoled him, the evil Māra was satisfied, pleased,
and happy. He became joyful, delighted, and elated, and instantly
disappeared.

Then Prince Mañjuśrī spoke to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, with what
intention did you tell the evil Māra that you would not bless this Dharma
teaching?”

The Blessed One responded, “Mañjuśrī, since no phenomenon is blessed, all
phenomena are blessed. Since this Dharma teaching is not blessed
either, it is blessed. Mañjuśrī, that is why I told the evil Māra that I
would not bless this Dharma teaching. Mañjuśrī, by the power of truth and
the truth of these words, since no phenomenon is blessed, they are all
blessed. They are beyond distinction, inexpressible, without
characteristics, inexplicable, unutterable, nondual, without duality, and
identical with the limit of reality. They are steeped in suchness and are of
the nature of the realm of phenomena. By the power of this truth and these
true words, may this Dharma teaching spread throughout the world!”

Then, having performed this truth blessing, the Blessed One addressed the
venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, this Dharma teaching and all the eighty-four
thousand sections of Dharma are the same, so you must therefore retain this teaching of The Universal Gateway. You must hold it, read it,
master it, and teach it extensively and authentically to others. Why is
that? Ānanda, it is because the thus-gone ones teach the eighty-four
thousand sections of the Dharma to beings once they have understood this
realm of Dharma
of The Universal Gateway. Ānanda, for that
reason you must guard, retain, and master this Dharma teaching.”

When the Blessed One had said this, the bodhisattva great being Amalagarbha,
Prince Mañjuśrī, Venerable Ānanda, and the whole world with its gods,
humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the Blessed One’s words.

Colophon

Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra
and Surendrabodhi along with the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé
Dé.

Notes

Abbreviations

C
Coné (co ne) Kangyur

H
Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur

J
Lithang (’jang sa tham) Kangyur

K
Peking (pe cin) Kangxi Kangyur

KY

Peking Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur

N
Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur

S
Stok Palace (stog pho brang) Manuscript Kangyur

Bibliography

accumulation and demonstration of all merit and roots of virtue arisen from ripened action
las kyi rnam par smin pa las byung ba’i bsod nams dang dge ba’i rtsa ba thams cad bsags shing ston par byed pa
ལས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་པར་སྨིན་པ་ལས་བྱུང་བའི་བསོད་ནམས་དང་དགེ་བའི་རྩ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་བསགས་ཤིང་སྟོན་པར་བྱེད་པ།

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

imitating the pleasant sound of the lion’s roar
seng ge’i sgra mngon par bsgrags pa’i dbyangs yid du ’ong ba rjes su sgros pa
སེང་གེའི་སྒྲ་མངོན་པར་བསྒྲགས་པའི་དབྱངས་ཡིད་དུ་འོང་བ་རྗེས་སུ་སྒྲོས་པ།

Name of an absorption.

liberated their minds from the defilements, without further appropriation
len pa med par zag pa rnams las sems rnam par grol
ལེན་པ་མེད་པར་ཟག་པ་རྣམས་ལས་སེམས་རྣམ་པར་གྲོལ།
anupādāyaśravebhyaś cittāni vimuktāni
To achieve liberation without needing to take further rebirth, or appropriation of the five aggregates, in saṃsāra.

Name of an absorption.

source of inconceivable qualities, wellspring of the precious domain of wisdom, singular stream free of affliction
yon tan bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i ’byung gnas shes rab kyi yul rin po che’i ’byung khungs rgyun cig pa nyon mongs pa med pa
ཡོན་ཏན་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པའི་འབྱུང་གནས་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཡུལ་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་འབྱུང་ཁུངས་རྒྱུན་ཅིག་པ་ཉོན་མོངས་པ་མེད་པ།

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

truly creating all forms of joy, contentment, and satisfaction
dga’ ba dang mgu ba dang tshim pa thams cad yang dag par bskyed pa
དགའ་བ་དང་མགུ་བ་དང་ཚིམ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡང་དག་པར་བསྐྱེད་པ།

Name of an absorption.

Name of an absorption.

A past buddha.

A prolific Tibetan translator active during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

The buddha realm of the buddha Saṃkusumita.