寶行王正論

PEACE AND LIBERATION

Chapter One

Liberated from every obstruction,

Perfectly adorned with all virtues,

I bow to all the wise ones,

The good friends of sentient beings.

Having clearly understood the true Dharma,

Out of love for the Dharma, O Great King,

I expound this Dharma for your sake;

This Dharma encompasses all such persons.

First, the causes of worldly happiness are taught;

Afterward, the Dharma of liberation.

Sentient beings first attain happiness,

And afterward attain liberation.

A favorable destiny is called happiness;

Liberation means the exhaustion of afflictions.

In brief, the causes of these two

Are solely the two faculties of faith and wisdom.

Through faith one can uphold the Dharma;

Through wisdom one comprehends it as it truly is.

Of these two, wisdom is supreme,

Yet both arise through faith.

Because one does not corrupt the Dharma

Through delusion, greed, anger, or fear,

Know that this faith

Is called auspicious happiness.

What is clearly understood and discerned here

Is that the three karmas of body, speech, and mind

Should always benefit oneself and others;

Thus it is taught for the sake of the wise.

Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct,

False speech and divisive speech,

Harsh words and meaningless speech,

Greed, anger, and wrong view—

These are called the ten unwholesome deeds;

Their opposites are the ten wholesome deeds.

Abstain from intoxicants and live purely;

Do not torment the mind;

Make offerings to those worthy of reverence—

Thus, in brief, is the Dharma taught.

If one can practice austerities,

One will certainly be reborn in wholesome states;

Yet if they are divorced from wisdom and compassion,

And are austerities alone,

They cannot remove the harm of others,

Nor rescue or benefit them.

Generosity, morality, and meditation shine clearly

Upon the great path of the true Dharma.

If one forgets this and follows a wrong path,

One torments oneself and is reborn as an ox,

In places of the most painful samsaric existence,

Without food, drink, or shade from trees,

Or as food in the dwelling places of wolves,

Remaining there for a very long time.

Through killing, one has a short life;

Through oppression, one suffers many illnesses;

Through greed, one becomes poor and lowly;

Through intrusion, one creates enmity.

Through false speech, one is slandered;

Through divisive speech, loved ones part;

Through harsh speech, one hears unpleasant words;

Through frivolous speech, others bear resentment.

Through greed, one seeks in two places;

Through anger, one suffers the terrors of Mara;

Through wrong view, attachments arise;

Through drinking alcohol, the mind becomes disturbed.

By failing to give, one remains greedy;

Through wrong livelihood, one encounters delusion and madness;

By not living peacefully, one becomes a thief;

Through jealousy, one lacks dignity and virtue.

Through rage, one becomes like a ghost;

By failing to inquire and listen, one becomes foolish.

These conditions exist among human beings

Because they formerly dwelt in evil destinies.

The karmic results of killing

And the other transgressions are as stated.

Freedom from greed, anger, and such deeds—

These are called wholesome causes and conditions.

Evil deeds and all suffering

Arise entirely from wrong teachings.

The peace and security of favorable destinies

Arise entirely from wholesome causes.

Always abandon every evil;

Constantly practice every good.

Through the karma of body, speech, and mind,

These two teachings should be clearly understood.

Through the first teaching, one can leave behind

The hells and the four other realms;

The second teaching can bring about

Birth as a human, a god, or a wealthy and happy king.

Through meditative concentration, the Brahma abodes, and the formless attainments,

One experiences the bliss of the heavenly realms.

Thus, in brief, have been named

The causes of happiness and the fruits of happiness.

Furthermore, the Dharma of liberation

Is subtle and truly difficult to perceive.

When ordinary minds that have never heard it

Do hear it, fear immediately arises:

‘The self is not born there;

Neither now nor hereafter do I exist.’

The ordinary person thinks thus and becomes afraid;

The wise person’s fear is utterly extinguished.

The world sees the self as arising

And clings to that matter.

The Buddha realized the truth by this path

And, relying upon compassion, taught it to others.

‘Mine’ and ‘belonging to me’—

Both are empty.

By seeing the principle as it truly is,

These two attachments do not arise.

By clinging to the skandhas, one conceives a self;

The attachment to self arises from failing to understand emptiness.

If the seed is not real,

How could the sprout exist?

If one sees that the skandhas are not real,

The self will no longer arise.

When that view has been extinguished,

The skandhas likewise do not arise again.

Just as a person, relying upon a clear mirror,

Immediately sees his own reflection,

That reflection can be seen,

Yet in one respect it is not real.

Seeing the self is also like this:

It appears in dependence upon the skandhas.

When truly understood, it does not exist,

Just as a reflection seen in a mirror.

Just as a person who does not grasp a mirror

Does not see his own reflection,

So too, if the skandhas are dismantled,

The self immediately ceases to exist.

Upon hearing a teaching such as this,

The greatly purified and venerable Ananda

Immediately attained the pure Dharma-eye;

This was constantly taught for his sake.

By clinging to the skandhas herein,

Attachment to a self continually persists.

Because this self is perceived as existing,

Karma and existence perpetually continue.

Samsara revolves through three divisions,

Turning without beginning, middle, or end,

Like the wheel of a cart or a firebrand;

Samsara is likewise so.

From oneself, from another, or from both,

It does not exist in the three times.

By realizing this, one sees that the self is empty;

All karmic retributions are likewise so.

Thus one sees causes and effects,

Their arising and their complete cessation,

And therefore does not cling as truly existent

To the existence or nonexistence of the world.

When an ignorant person hears this Dharma,

All suffering can immediately cease;

Yet through lack of wisdom, fear arises

Where there is nothing to fear.

In nirvana there is no such self;

Why, then, do you become afraid?

As it has been taught, it is truly empty;

Why should this cause you distress?

In liberation there is neither self nor skandhas.

If you cherish this Dharma,

Then relinquish the self and the skandhas;

How could you not be joyful?

Beyond this there is no nirvana,

Much less any conditioned existence.

When attachment to existence and nonexistence is completely purified,

The Buddha calls this nirvana.

In brief, wrong view

Means denying cause and effect.

It prevents the accumulation of sufficient merit

And is itself a cause of evil destinies.

In brief, right view

Means understanding the nature of cause and effect.

It enables the full accumulation of merit

And is the supreme cause of favorable destinies.

Through wisdom, existence and nonexistence are pacified;

One passes beyond merit and demerit.

Thus one leaves behind both good and evil destinies;

The Buddha calls this liberation.

If one sees that arising has a cause,

The wise relinquish attachment to nonexistence.

By seeing cessation together with its cause,

They therefore relinquish attachment to existence.

The former two arise from causes,

Yet in ultimate truth they are causeless.

Conventional designations do not depend upon that;

Even arising itself is not real.

When this exists, that exists,

Like long and short.

Through the arising of this, that arises,

Like a lamp and its light.

What was formerly long may later be short;

It is not therefore without a nature.

Nor does light arise independently,

For that lamp itself is not real.

When causes and effects arise in this way,

One who sees them does not cling to nonexistence.

Belief in the reality of this world

Arises because the mind is confused.

When the false view is lost, one is no longer deluded

And immediately realizes suchness.

Therefore, one does not cling to existence

And, depending upon neither extreme, is liberated.

Form is perceived from afar;

If it were near, it could easily be distinguished.

If a mirage truly possessed color,

Why would it not be seen when approached?

If what is distant were truly clear,

Then the world would be seen as existent;

But upon realizing truth, it is no longer seen,

Being signless like a mirage.

Just as the water of a mirage

Is neither water nor a real substance,

So these skandhas resemble a person,

Yet are neither a person nor real dharmas.

From afar, a mirage is briefly imagined to be water;

If one goes there, where is that water?

If one does not cling to it as water,

One is not like such foolish people.

The world is like a mirage.

If one clings to it as truly existent or nonexistent,

This itself is ignorance;

Through delusion, one is not liberated.

Clinging to nonexistence, one falls into evil destinies;

Clinging to existence, one is born in favorable destinies.

If one understands reality as it truly is,

Relying on neither extreme, one is liberated.

One takes no delight in clinging to existence or nonexistence,

Because one has discerned the ultimate meaning.

If one falls into the position of nonattachment,

Why is it not said that one falls into existence?

If it is said that, by refuting existence,

One consequently falls into nonexistence,

Then likewise, by refuting nonexistence,

Why would one not fall into existence?

It is not taught that conduct and mind

Exist by relying upon bodhi.

If it is said that this falls into nonexistence,

For what reason does it not fall into existence?

The Samkhya teachers and the Vaisesika masters,

And the Nirgranthas, speak of the skandhas as causes.

In accordance with worldly convention, you should question them.

If one speaks of passing beyond existence and nonexistence,

It is a Dharma that cannot be expressed.

Because it transcends existence and nonexistence,

You should understand its profundity.

The Buddha’s true teaching is ambrosia.

Like beauty, it neither comes nor goes,

Nor does it abide for even a single thought-moment.

If one reveres the passage of the three times,

Which of those times truly exists?

The two times neither come nor go,

And the present truly does not remain.

Arising, abiding, and perishing—

Which of these is real?

If there can be change,

What dharma cannot perish?

If there is no thought-moment, yet the thought-moment perishes,

How could there be alteration?

If it is said that each thought-moment perishes,

Then before it is complete, it has not yet perished.

Nor are both experienced together;

These two positions are unreasonable.

If, when a thought-moment perishes, all is utterly exhausted,

How could anything remain?

If one realizes that no thought-moment perishes,

How, then, could a thing come into being?

Just as after a single instant,

There are also a before and a middle,

Because an instant is divided into three,

The passage of time is said not to abide.

Thus, within one thought-moment are the three realms;

Therefore, examine them as one examines a thought-moment.

Before, middle, and after—all three—

Are produced neither by themselves nor by another.

They are neither one nor composed of many parts;

If they are indivisible, how could they exist?

Apart from one and many, what could there be?

Apart from existence, there is no dharma at all.

Through cessation and its antidote—

If it is said that existence becomes nonexistence,

Then this nonexistence and its antidote...

What dharma is existence or nonexistence?

Therefore, the realm of nirvana,

By its meaning, cannot be established as existent.

Concerning the world in the hereafter,

When questioned, the Buddha remained silent.

Out of reverence for omniscience,

The noble ones therefore understood the Buddha:

Because this Dharma is profound,

It cannot be spoken or expressed.

This Dharma of liberation

Is profound and free from bondage.

The Buddhas, possessed of omniscience,

Therefore taught that it has no support,

And does not depend upon any dharma,

Transcending the two extremes of existence and nonexistence.

Worldly people cling with attachment;

Through delusion, they fear loss.

When this or that is lost and destroyed,

They are terrified, having no refuge.

May you, O King, be unafraid.

All fear arises because that destroys the self.

So that you may become indestructible,

I shall expound the truth.

By relying upon what is undeluded,

One abandons both graspings at existence and nonexistence,

And transcends merit and demerit.

Once the following meaning is understood,

One sees there is no self and has no fear.

Second, the sphere of the person shall be explained:

The four great elements, space, and consciousness—

Nowhere among these is there a person.

Whether combined or separated, there is no person;

Why, then, grasp at the existence of a person?

Just as there is no person in the six dhatus,

Their aggregation is not real.

Each dhatu is likewise;

Because it is an aggregation, it is unreal.

The skandhas are neither the self nor possessed by the self;

Apart from the skandhas, no self appears.

They are not mingled like fire and fuel;

How can one rely on the skandhas to establish a self?

Earth is not the other three great elements,

Nor are those three found within earth;

And earth is not found within those three;

Neither separation nor combination can be established.

The great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind

Are each unestablished in their own nature.

One apart from three cannot be established;

Three apart from one are likewise.

One and three, or three and one—

If separated, they cannot be established.

Since each is unestablished in itself,

How could they be divided from one another?

If each were established separately in itself,

How could there be fire apart from fuel?

Motion, obstruction, and cohesion—

Water, wind, and earth are likewise.

If fire is not established in itself,

How can the other three be established?

The meaning of the three great elements is dependent arising;

How could their distinctions be established?

If each were established in itself,

Why would they then produce existence together?

If each were unestablished in itself,

How could they again become existent together?

If it is said that they are not separate,

Yet that each great element is established in itself,

Then, being inseparable, they cannot coexist;

If separate, they are not individually established.

Since the great elements are not separately established,

How could each have its own nature and characteristic?

If each were established, they would not be many;

Therefore their characteristics are said to be mere designations.

Form, sound, smell, taste, and touch

Are to be understood simply as are the great elements.

Eye, form, consciousness, and ignorance,

As well as karma and birth, are likewise.

The agent, the action,

The accumulation of causes and effects through many lives,

Short and long, name and conception,

And neither-perception are likewise.

Earth, fire, wind, and water,

Long and short, small and great,

Good and bad—all that is spoken and known

Ceases and remains no more within wisdom.

Where consciousness is formless,

Boundless, and all-pervading,

Therein earth and the great elements

Are all completely extinguished.

There, characteristics are not cognized;

Short and long, good and evil,

Name-and-form and all the skandhas—

Thus they cease and remain no more.

In this way, consciousness as well

Exists because ignorance preceded it.

If wisdom arises where consciousness is,

Both this and what follows are brought to an end.

Thus are these and worldly dharmas;

This is consciousness, fire, and fuel.

Through the true discernment of the fire’s radiance,

Worldly consciousness and its fuel are consumed.

Whether delusion exists separately or not,

One subsequently accepts suchness.

When sought, existence cannot be found;

How, then, could nonexistence be found?

Because it is constituted by what is not form,

It cannot be named.

How could there be form apart from the great elements?

Therefore, the ayatanas too are mere names.

Feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness

Should be understood like the four great elements.

The four great elements are like space and self;

Among the six dhatus there is no dharma of a person.

THE PRECEPTS OF THE KING’S PRECIOUS CONDUCT

Miscellaneous Chapter, the Second

As a plantain trunk, peeled layer by layer,

Leaves nothing remaining,

So too, when the person’s six dhatus are peeled away,

Nothing remains; therefore the Buddha taught

That all is without self.

Though the six dhatus are called dharmas,

It is definitively taught that there is truly no self.

The two meanings, self and no-self,

Do not exist as they really are.

Therefore the Tathagata taught

That self and no-self are two extremes.

Seeing, hearing, discerning, knowing, and speaking—

The Buddha said they are unreal and false.

Since two characteristics are established in mutual dependence,

Neither truly exists.

What is regarded as real in the world

Passes beyond reality and again beyond falsity.

The world immediately relies upon reality,

And thus falls into existence and nonexistence.

If dharmas change and are not thus,

Why did the Buddha again speak of

A finite world and an infinite world,

Of both, and of neither?

The Buddhas of the past were immeasurable;

Those of the present and future exceed all reckoning.

Sentient beings are beyond all counting;

The Buddhas appear throughout the three times.

The world is empty, yet its causes endure;

At this time it appears in the world.

The world transcends existence and nonexistence;

Why, then, did the Buddha call it finite?

Because such a Dharma is profound,

It was not secretly taught to ordinary beings.

Teaching that the world is like an illusion,

The Buddha therefore bestowed the ambrosia.

Just as an illusory image

Is commonly seen to arise and cease,

Yet that form, arising, and cessation

Do not exist in ultimate meaning,

So the world is like an illusion;

Its arising and cessation are seen in the same way.

The world, its arising, and its cessation—

Both as illusion and in ultimate meaning—are empty.

An illusory form comes from nowhere,

And when it departs, it goes nowhere.

Because the minds of sentient beings are deluded,

They take it as truly existent, though it does not abide.

The world together with the three times

Is thus; how could the world be real?

Apart from the statements “existent” and “nonexistent,”

Existence and nonexistence truly have no meaning.

Therefore, through only the four propositions,

The Buddha did not explain the world.

Because both existence and nonexistence are false,

This falsity itself is not false.

This body’s characteristics are impure;

The mirage, lamp, cognition, mirror, and the like

Are constantly seen in great abundance,

Yet still they do not enter the mind of faith.

How much less could the subtle true Dharma,

Profound and without support,

Be realized by a distracted mind?

How could it be easily entered?

When the Buddha first attained awakening,

He wished to relinquish teaching and enter nirvana,

Because he saw that this true Dharma

Was profound and therefore difficult to understand.

If this Dharma is not clearly understood,

It harms the uncomprehending hearer.

By grasping it contrary to how it is,

One falls into the filthy pit of wrong views.

Those who do not understand the person, consciousness, and dharmas,

Through arrogance, disparage the Dharma,

Give rise to slander, and destroy themselves;

In the end, they fall into hell.

It is like craving food and drink,

And thereby encountering danger.

If one eats in accordance with reason and measure,

One gains strength, happiness, and health.

If one misconstrues the true Dharma,

One likewise encounters suffering;

But if one can understand it according to reason,

One experiences happiness and bodhi.

Regarding the true Dharma, the wise

Abandon slander and false doctrines.

They apply true wisdom,

And thereby accomplish their aims.

Through failing to understand this Dharma,

People perpetuate the view of self.

On this basis, they create manifold karma

And are then born in fortunate or wretched destinies.

Until one realizes the Dharma

That can eradicate the view of self,

One should constantly arouse right effort

In moral discipline, generosity, patience, and the rest.

Establish this Dharma at the beginning,

And also in the middle and at the end.

Its meaning is unfailing; it is truth.

Thus, in the present and future, one will not sink.

Through the Dharma, one is presently called virtuous,

Joyfully enters it, and does not fear death;

In later births, one enjoys wealth and happiness.

Therefore, in accord with this Dharma,

Govern correctly by the Dharma alone.

Through the Dharma, the people of the world will cherish you.

If compassion for the people arises,

Neither now nor hereafter will you be deluded.

If you govern contrary to the Dharma,

The ruler encounters evil oppression from his ministers.

As evil increases throughout the world,

Neither now nor hereafter will there be joy.

That royal policy of deception

Brings great calamity and the evil destinies.

It is the doctrine of evil wisdom and corrupt companions;

How could it be called correct?

If a person devotes himself to deception,

How could his conduct be called upright?

For this reason, throughout myriad births,

He constantly encounters the same falsehood.

If you wish to make enemies,

Forsake what should be retained and retain what should be forsaken.

When their advantage is thus secured,

They immediately become enemies who cause distress.

Through generosity and affectionate speech,

Beneficial conduct and cooperation,

May you gather the world together

And thereby propagate the true Dharma.

If a king speaks a single truthful word,

The worthy among his people will trust him.

But if it is mingled with falsehood,

It will not bring them peace.

A truthful intention arises without duplicity,

Flows everywhere, and can benefit others.

This is called truthful speech;

Its opposite is falsehood.

If one clearly understands that a single act of relinquishing wealth

Can bring peace, though the king loses it,

Then such loss of a ruler’s possessions

Can safeguard both the king and his virtue.

If a king avoids evil deeds,

His abundant virtue wins the people’s esteem.

For this reason, the wise king is instructed

To conduct himself in tranquility.

Because a wise king is difficult to sway,

Understands for himself, and does not blindly trust others,

He will never encounter deception;

Therefore he must resolutely cultivate wisdom.

Relying upon reason, renunciation, purity, and governance,

The king becomes endowed with four virtues.

Like the four qualities of the true Dharma,

They are praised by gods and humans.

He is also able to speak with purity

Because his wisdom and compassion are stainless.

By constantly associating with the wise,

The king’s Dharma and wisdom increase.

A person who speaks well is difficult to find;

It is still more difficult to hear good counsel.

Best of all is a third kind of person:

One who can admonish others and lead them to goodness.

If good counsel is not pleasing,

Understand this and cultivate receptiveness to admonition.

Just as medicine, though bitter in taste,

Is gladly declared to effect a powerful cure,

Accept it without ailment, O King.

Constantly contemplate impermanence;

After birth, give rise to apprehension.

Moreover, apply your mind wholly to practicing the Dharma,

Seeing with certainty that you must die.

Death arising from evil views is suffering.

For the sake of present happiness, the wise

Do not commit transgressions.

If one is not afraid for even a single thought,

How could one not fear what follows?

If the mind is at peace for a single thought,

Why should it not fear what comes afterward?

Through drinking alcohol, one encounters contempt,

Injury, and diminished bodily strength.

Through delusion, one does what ought not be done;

Therefore, the wise abstain from alcohol.

Gambling encompasses many pleasures,

Yet gives rise to greed, anger, and delight in deceit,

False speech, and the causes of harsh speech;

Therefore, you should keep far from it.

Sexual indulgence causes lives to pass away,

Because the female body is imagined to be pure.

When one examines the female body,

In truth, not even a hair's breadth of it is pure.

The mouth is a vessel of saliva and nasal discharge;

The teeth and tongue are filthy and foul-smelling.

The nose stinks because of mucus,

And there are many kinds of tears as well.

The belly contains feces, urine, and intestines;

The body's exterior is a mass of bone and flesh.

Deluded people are not repelled by it,

And therefore become attached to this.

The gates of the faculties are filled with foulness,

Yet one craves another's wretched body.

If attachment arises toward it,

By what condition could one become free of desire?

Just as a vessel of urine

Is a place in which pigs delight,

So those of abundant desire take pleasure

In the body's impure apertures.

This aperture is the place of birth,

A filthy place composed of bodily matter.

Deluded people cling to it with perverse desire,

Failing to discern what is beneficial.

You yourself see that a portion of it

Is urine and impurity.

Why, then, do you delight

In this aggregate called the body?

From red and white substances a seed develops,

Formed in a place of sweat.

Knowing the body to be impure,

How could the mind painfully give rise to love?

It is a foul mass, fit to inspire revulsion,

A stinking thing bound in skin.

If you delight in lying within it,

You are attached to the female body.

Whether you love or whether you hate,

The bodies of the aged and of women

Are all equally impure;

Toward what, then, does your craving arise?

A heap of feces may have a beautiful color

And a truly lovely appearance,

Yet love for it certainly should not arise;

Love for a woman's body is likewise.

Within, it is filthy and truly impure;

Without, it is enclosed by skin.

Its nature belongs to that of a corpse;

Why do you see this so unclearly?

Impure skin is like a garment

That cannot simply be washed clean.

Why take the filth upon the skin

And alter it to make it appear pure?

If you are repelled by the outer appearance

Of a vessel filled entirely with filth,

Why are you not disgusted by this body,

Which is filled with such impurity?

If you detest every impurity,

Why do you not find the body repulsive?

Perfumes, flowers, fine foods, and drinks,

Though pure in origin, it can defile.

If you are disgusted

By your own or another's fecal filth,

Why are you not repelled

By the impurity of your own and others' bodies?

Just as the female body is impure,

So too is one's own body filthy.

Thus, those who abandon desire for others

Regard both inside and outside alike.

From the nine apertures impurities flow;

You know this yourself and wash them yourself.

If one does not recognize impurity

And yet gives rise to sensual desire,

How astonishingly ignorant one truly is,

Neither ashamed nor contemptuous of it!

In that impure body,

What could possibly benefit you?

Because of this, many sentient beings

Have their minds obscured by ignorance.

For the minute dust of sensual desire, they form enmity,

Like dogs fighting over feces.

As worms delight upon seeing feces,

And find comfort when an itch is relieved,

So does sensual pleasure arise;

Yet those without desire possess the greatest bliss.

If you contemplate this meaning,

Yet fail to accomplish freedom from desire,

It is because you regard sensual desire as trivial

And do not perceive the consequences of sexual indulgence.

Seeing that life is fleeting as a mouse,

And fearing suffering and every torment

That will certainly be experienced in the future,

You should diligently practice compassion.

Whoever sees those beings

Will truly give rise to fear,

For, like a filthy body covered in feces,

They are entered and exited by venomous creatures.

If such a person goes among them,

Sentient beings will attain happiness,

Just as beneath the cloud-filled summer moon

People increasingly long for rain.

Therefore, abandon unwholesome dharmas

And resolve to cultivate wholesome conduct,

So that both you and others may attain

The fruit of unsurpassed bodhi.

The foundation of this bodhi

Is called firm as the king of mountains.

Its causes are constant throughout the ten directions,

And it relies upon nondual wisdom.

Great King, listen attentively

As I now explain the causes

That bring about the thirty-two marks,

So that you may understand their meaning.

By honoring members of the noble ones,

Making offerings and drawing near to them,

One gains beautiful and noble marks on the hands and feet

And will become a wheel-turning king.

The hands and feet will be exceedingly soft,

And the body tall, standing seven cubits high,

Through giving excellent food and drink

And making such gifts abundantly.

The body will be perfectly formed and handsome,

And the hands and feet full and long.

You will enjoy a long life

Through compassionately caring for prisoners.

Great King, steadfastly uphold the Dharma

And purify the causes of longevity.

Through this path of peace,

You will become a bodhisattva.

Practice generosity, loving speech,

Beneficial conduct, and cooperation.

Through these, the fingers will be webbed,

And the hands and feet adorned with eighty features.

The heels will be high and lovely,

And every hair will point upward.

Through long perseverance without abandoning the sublime,

Rooted in receiving and upholding the Dharma,

And through respectfully honoring donors

In every place and in every vocation,

You will obtain legs like those of the king of deer,

Together with keen and vast wisdom.

When others seek what you possess,

If you are able to give it generously,

Your arms will become beautiful and long,

And you will become a lord who transforms the world.

When loved ones are separated,

The bodhisattva brings them together.

This brings about the mark of the concealed male organ,

Which always remains hidden within.

By constantly giving homes and possessions,

Even small things, and by delighting in beautiful colors,

One gains a body like that of a heavenly being,

Supple, radiant, subtle, and wondrous.

Through giving unsurpassed and innumerable gifts,

And properly following those of higher station,

One brings about a single hair in each pore

And the white urna between the brows.

By always speaking kindly and affectionately,

And being able to accord with the true Dharma,

The upper body becomes like that of a lion,

Rounded and full like sweet milk.

By visiting the sick and providing medicine,

Or giving them food and drink,

One obtains a full lower abdomen

With a thousand vessels and a hundred vital channels.

Regarding oneself, others, and the Dharma,

By always taking the lead,

One obtains the precious crown upon the head,

Broad, firm, beautiful, and extraordinary.

By refraining from false speech about lofty dwellings

And instead speaking truthfully and kindly,

One obtains the eight qualities of Brahma's voice

And a long, broad tongue.

Knowing now the benefit of this,

By explaining it to others again and again,

One obtains beauty like that of a lion,

With a truly lovely countenance.

By not despising others

And acting in harmony with right principles,

One's teeth become the whitest of all,

Like genuine pearls.

Through repeatedly speaking words

That are truthful and never divisive,

One obtains a complete set of forty teeth,

Beautiful, firm, even, and excellent.

By looking kindly upon sentient beings,

Free from greed, anger, and delusion,

The eyes become blue, smooth, and beautiful,

With lashes like those of the king of bulls.

Thus have I spoken briefly

Of the causes of the great marks of a person.

You should know the beauty

Of a wheel-turning king and a bodhisattva.

The eighty minor characteristics

Arise from loving-kindness and compassion.

Great King, I shall not explain them,

For doing so would make this account exceedingly long.

Wheel-turning kings alone

Share these excellent marks;

They are radiant, pure, and lovely,

But they are not equal to those of the Tathagata.

From the wholesome mind of a bodhisattva,

In every thought and in every aspect,

Arise the causes of a wheel-turning king's excellent marks,

Yet these should never be compared with the Buddha's.

Though each person, for myriads of kotis of kalpas,

Cultivated wholesome roots and caused them to flourish,

Those causes could not bring about

Even one hair among the Buddha's marks.

All the marks of the Buddhas and wheel-turning kings,

Even in every single aspect,

Are like comparing them to the sun:

They resemble it only in possessing light.

THE KING'S ORNAMENT OF PRECIOUS CONDUCT, A TREATISE ON THE RIGHT PATH

CHAPTER ON THE PROVISIONS FOR BODHI

Chapter Three

The excellent marks of all Buddhas

Arise from inconceivable merit.

I shall now explain them to you

According to the Mahayana Agamas.

All the merit of pratyekabuddhas,

The merit of learners and those beyond learning,

And the worldly merit throughout the ten directions—

Such merit is difficult to measure.

Ten times this merit

Brings about one hair among the Buddha's marks.

Each of the ninety-nine thousand hairs

Is produced by that same amount of merit.

The immense merit required thus

To produce all the Buddha's hairs,

When increased another hundredfold,

Brings about one minor characteristic of the Buddha.

With the same vast accumulation,

Each minor characteristic is perfected,

Until all eighty

Minor characteristics are complete.

The aggregate of merit sufficient

To bring about the eighty minor characteristics,

When combined and increased a hundredfold,

Brings about one great mark of the Buddha.

The vast merit sufficient

To bring about thirty of the marks,

When again increased a hundredfold,

Produces the beautiful urna, like the full moon,

And brings about its lovely whiteness.

When increased yet another thousandfold,

This merit brings about the difficult-to-behold

Ushnisha crown upon the head.

Such merit is immeasurable,

Though expediently described as having measure.

Throughout all the ten directions,

It is said to equal ten times the worlds.

The causes of the Buddhas' form bodies

Are always immeasurable in this way;

How much more so the causes of the Buddhas' Dharma bodies—

How could they possibly have a limit?

Though worldly causes may be slight,

Their great results are difficult to equal.

The causes of Buddhahood are themselves beyond comparison;

How, then, could their results be described by comparison?

The Buddhas possess form bodies

All arise from meritorious conduct.

Great King, the Buddha’s Dharma-body

Is accomplished through wisdom;

Thus the Buddha’s practices of merit and wisdom

Are the causal branches of bodhi.

Therefore, may you diligently cultivate

The practices of merit and wisdom for bodhi,

And thereby perfect the merit of bodhi.

You need not fall into anxiety;

Through reasoning and the Agamas,

You can establish a serene and trusting mind.

Just as the boundless ten directions,

Space, earth, water, and fire,

So too are the suffering beings

Boundless in number.

For these boundless sentient beings,

The bodhisattva, relying upon great compassion,

Delivers them from suffering

And vows that they attain parinirvana.

From this, generate a steadfast resolve.

Whether walking, standing, lying down, or recollecting,

Or even when briefly heedless,

Immeasurable merit will flow forth,

As abundant as sentient beings,

Flowing constantly without interruption.

Since cause and effect are joined together,

Bodhi is therefore not difficult.

Time and sentient beings,

Bodhi and merit—

Because these are immeasurable, the bodhisattva

Steadfastly cultivates the Four Immeasurables.

Although bodhi is immeasurable,

Its prior causes are the Four Immeasurables.

By cultivating both merit and wisdom,

How could it be difficult to attain?

When merit and wisdom alike

Are thus without limit,

The bodhisattva’s bodily and mental sufferings,

And therefore illnesses, are eliminated.

The evil destinies, together with hunger and thirst,

And bodily pain arise from evil karma.

The bodhisattva, having abandoned evil

And practiced good, does not give rise to suffering.

Desire, anger, fear, and the like—

Mental suffering arises from delusion.

By relying upon nondual wisdom,

The bodhisattva leaves mental suffering behind.

Even if some suffering remained,

Could it overwhelm abundant patience?

Without suffering, time may pass at length;

When there is happiness, how could it be difficult?

Bodily suffering certainly does not exist;

Suppose it is said that mental suffering exists:

Concerned about the world’s two kinds of suffering,

One therefore remains forever in samsara.

Because bodhi requires a long time,

The wise do not become attached in mind.

Eliminating evil and engendering good—

This is uninterrupted cultivation.

Greed, anger, and ignorance:

May you consciously abandon them.

Freedom from greed and from every suffering—

Clearly understand and reverently cultivate this.

Through greed, one is born among hungry ghosts;

Through anger, one falls into hell;

Through delusion, one enters the animal realm;

By reversing these, one is born among gods and humans.

Abandoning evil and cultivating good—

This Dharma is the cause of happiness.

If this is the Dharma of liberation,

Through wisdom, relinquish the two attachments.

Images of the Buddha and chaityas, accumulations of merit,

Shrines, monasteries, and stupas,

Together with the most excellent and abundant offerings—

You should reverently establish them.

Seated upon a precious lotus,

Perfect in wondrous and beautiful form,

Made from every kind of gold—

You should fashion images of the Buddha.

Issue decrees to protect and preserve

The true Dharma and the noble Sangha.

Offer golden canopies above them,

Presenting them with meritorious devotion.

Gold, silver, and many precious flowers,

Coral, vaidurya jewels,

Deep-blue indranila sapphires,

And diamonds—offer them to cultivate merit.

Those capable of teaching the true Dharma

Should be supported with the four requisites.

The six principles of harmony and reverence, together with the Dharma,

Should always be diligently cultivated.

Reverently believe, listen,

Practice diligently, and preserve the teachings;

A bodhisattva should do all these things

And continue making offerings after death.

You should not approach and pay homage

To the gods or assemblies of non-Buddhists,

For lack of wisdom and false beliefs

Obscure the recognition of evil deeds.

The Buddha’s Agamas and treatises—

Have them written, read, recited, and bestowed;

Also offer paper, brushes, and ink.

You should cultivate this merit.

Establish schools throughout the kingdom,

Employing teachers and scholars;

Build an enduring foundation—

Do this for the sake of wisdom.

For medicine and the crafts as well,

You should allocate lands,

So that the many who are aged or afflicted by illness

May receive aid within the realm.

Establish various monasteries,

Gardens, roads, ponds, pavilions, and dwellings;

Provide within them all necessary articles,

Vegetables and foods for cooking.

Throughout the lesser territories,

You should build monasteries, pavilions, and inns.

Where water is rarely found on distant roads,

Construct wells, ponds, and reservoirs for drinking.

Those who suffer illness, have no refuge, or are poor,

The weak and the fearful—

Embrace them with compassion

And diligently establish them in security.

Whenever fresh food and drink,

Vegetables, fruit, and newly harvested rice arrive,

Do not partake before first giving them

To the community and practitioners.

Cloth, jars, and knives,

Needles, thread, and doors,

Fish traps, snares, and all such things

Should be given to monasteries and inns.

The three fruits and three pungent herbs,

Sugar, water, milk, and medicines

Should always be prepared and kept ready,

Together with written formulas, mantras, and remedies.

Medicines and oils for anointing the body,

Oil burned in lamps, and fruit,

Water vessels, knives, and axes

Should be supplied to the pavilions and inns.

Rice, grain, flour, food, and drink,

Sugar, honey, and other such provisions

Should be kept in cool places,

Along with jars filled with pure water.

Near anthills and mouse holes,

Place food, rice, sugar, and the like;

May this inspire faith in people.

Each day these should be distributed.

According to what is needed, both before and afterward,

Always give to hungry ghosts,

Dogs, mice, birds, ants, and the like;

May you provide them with food.

In times of epidemic, hunger, or thirst,

Drought, banditry, or calamities afflicting the kingdom,

Immediately bring relief;

May you always render aid.

When farmers suffer failed harvests,

May you provide them with seed.

Collect taxes according to the season,

Gently regulating and guiding the people.

Give goods to the poor;

Forgo interest, leaving them free of anxiety.

Prepare in advance during quiet times,

And when the occasion comes, receive honored guests.

When thieves arise within or beyond the borders,

Use skillful means to stop them at once.

When merchants and their companions are stranded,

Keep the prices of goods equitable.

While seated and attending to affairs,

Personally examine them in accordance with reason.

Whatever benefits the myriad people,

Diligently and respectfully carry it out.

You should bring benefit to yourself

As you have always contemplated;

How can benefiting others be accomplished?

Quickly contemplate it in this way.

Earth, water, fire, wind, and the like,

Medicinal herbs and wild trees—

In this manner, whether now or awaiting the proper time,

Let others take them without refusal.

Within seven steps, you should arouse the resolve

To cultivate generosity with inner and outer possessions.

The bodhisattva’s merit thereby accomplished

Is as immeasurable as space.

Beautiful maidens adorned with excellent marks—

Generously give them to those who seek them.

Through this, one should attain dharani

Capable of dispelling all impediments to Dharma.

Beautiful and pleasing colored things,

Together with every kind of useful article,

Were given to eighty thousand maidens

By Shakyamuni Buddha in a former life.

Radiant objects of many colors,

Adorned garments,

Flowers and incense should likewise be given,

With compassionate wisdom, to those who seek them.

If someone lacks the conditions for this

And takes no delight in the Dharma,

Then you should give in this manner.

If you have not yet given it,

You may privately promise it to that person.

If something can benefit others,

Do not withhold the ambrosia of Dharma.

If doing so would bring harm overall—

As when a snake bites a person’s hand—

The Buddha permitted its immediate removal.

Or if the Buddha taught that it would benefit that person,

It should be done even under compulsion.

Firmly preserve the true Dharma

And support those capable of teaching the Dharma.

Reverently listen to and receive the Dharma,

Or bestow that Dharma upon others.

Do not delight in worldly praise;

Always rejoice in the supramundane Dharma.

Just as you establish your own virtue,

Establish others in the same way.

When what you hear is not yet fully understood,

Reflect upon and cultivate its true meaning.

To teachers, make offerings in gratitude for their kindness;

Do so reverently and without deceit.

Do not read heterodox treatises

And thereby give rise to contentious pride.

You should not praise your own virtues,

Nor should you praise the virtues of enemies.

Do not expose another’s affairs,

Nor speak divisively with malicious intent.

When you yourself have committed a fault toward another,

Examine it according to reason and repent.

If the error arose through your own actions,

How could a wise person blame the other?

Having freed yourself from this fault,

You should then help the other.

When others seek faults in you, do not become angry;

Contemplate your former evil karma.

Do not repay them with evil,

So that you will not suffer afterward.

Toward them, you should think:

“I do not expect repayment from them;

I alone should accept suffering,

And seek happiness for all beings.”

If you obtain celestial wealth and honor,

You should not become self-conceited.

When encountering those who are like hungry ghosts,

Do not fail to perform compassionate deeds.

Even if you should lose your royal throne,

Or die because of truthful speech,

Still speak the truth.

When truth brings no benefit, remain silent.

As these teachings have declared,

May you devote yourself to goodness.

Through these causes, things will change for the better,

And sovereignty will become excellent.

You should make pure and careful choices,

Then act in accordance with reason.

Do not act merely from another’s belief;

You should personally understand the true meaning.

If you perform goodness in accord with reason,

Your good name will spread throughout the ten directions.

Your royal lineage will continue unbroken;

The king will be wealthy, joyful, and increasingly mighty.

Death depends upon a hundred and one conditions,

While the causes sustaining life are few.

Because these causes or conditions may bring death,

You should always practice goodness.

If a person is capable of doing good,

He will attain peace and happiness.

When this applies both to oneself and others,

Such goodness brings complete happiness.

By relying upon Dharma as one’s very nature,

One sleeps in constant peace and awareness,

And sees auspicious things in dreams,

Because no evil abides within.

If a person supports his parents,

Reveres the head of his household,

Honors the virtuous with his possessions,

Practices patience and generosity,

Speaks gently and without duplicity,

And speaks truthfully in a manner that brings joy—

These are causes for birth in the nine celestial realms;

They should be cultivated throughout one’s life.

Through practicing these nine Dharmas in former lives

The Lord of Heaven attained his royal throne through merit.

Wherever there are Dharma halls,

He goes there and often declares:

Though three times each day one gives

Three hundred kinds of delicious food,

That merit cannot equal even a single instant

Of practicing one-hundredth part of loving-kindness.

Gods and humans rejoice and offer protection;

Day and night one experiences joyful bliss.

Neither enemies, fire, poison, nor weapons can harm one—

These are the present fruits of practicing loving-kindness.

Without effort and together with one’s possessions,

One will later be born in the form realm,

And obtain the ten virtues of loving-kindness.

If one has not yet attained liberation,

One should teach all sentient beings

To generate the mind of bodhi.

A bodhisattva’s virtue is like a mountain.

When the mind of bodhi is steadfast,

Through faith one escapes the eight difficulties;

By virtue of moral discipline, one is born in a fortunate realm;

By cultivating true suchness, like space,

One attains goodness through heedfulness.

By being free from deceit, one gains the faculty of mindfulness;

By constant recollection, one gains the faculty of wisdom;

Through reverence, one comprehends meaning and principle;

By protecting the Dharma in former lives,

And through generosity, one is able to hear the Dharma.

Even if one has not realized what one has heard,

One quickly attains what one cherishes

And soon encounters the Buddha.

By being free from greed, one accomplishes one’s undertakings;

By being free from miserliness, one possesses abundant wealth;

By abandoning pride, one attains the highest rank;

Through patience regarding dharmas, one attains complete retention.

By truly practicing the five kinds of giving,

Together with wisdom and fearlessness,

One becomes entirely free from fear

And thereby acquires great power.

Accumulating merit is like making a lamp:

In darkness there will be light.

By giving oil and lamps,

One therefore gains the beautiful divine eye.

When making offerings and giving,

One also produces the joyful sound of drums

And the wondrous sound of conches;

One will always gain the pure divine ear.

Regarding another’s faults, remain silent;

Do not speak of another’s deficient virtue.

By accommodating and guarding that person’s feelings,

One therefore attains knowledge of others’ minds.

Through giving, one obtains a vessel

That carries and rescues the poor;

By respectfully looking up to one’s superiors,

One therefore attains miraculous powers at will.

By causing others to remember the Dharma

And the words and meanings of the true Dharma,

Or by giving the Dharma with a pure mind,

One consequently attains knowledge of former lives.

Through wisdom that knows the true meaning—

That all dharmas are devoid of inherent nature—

One therefore attains the sixth superknowledge,

The supreme exhaustion of the outflows.

With impartial compassion for all alike,

And by cultivating wisdom in accordance with reality,

One personally attains Buddhahood

And forever liberates sentient beings.

Through many kinds of pure vows,

The Buddha-land is purified;

By offering every precious virtue,

One therefore emits manifold rays of light.

As with this karma and its fruit,

I clearly understand that their meanings correspond.

Therefore, one should cultivate benefit for others;

That itself is the benefit of bodhi for oneself.

THE PRECISE TREATISE ON THE KING’S PRECIOUS CONDUCT

INSTRUCTION TO THE KING

Chapter Four

If a king acts contrary to the Dharma

Or behaves contrary to right principle,

And people nevertheless praise his deeds,

That grave evil is difficult to recognize.

Moreover, there are people in the world

Who dislike goodness and are difficult to instruct;

How much more difficult is it for a great king

To listen to the words of virtuous people?

Now, because I care for you

And feel compassion for the entire world,

I offer you wholesome counsel.

It will truly benefit you if you are not attached.

With sincere intent and meaningful benefit,

Relying upon compassion,

The Buddha skillfully instructs his disciples;

Therefore, I speak for your sake.

If you listen attentively to this,

You should remain free from anger

And retain all that you can,

As one becomes clean through bathing.

I now speak wholesome words

That bring benefit in the present and the future.

Having understood them, you should put them into practice

For your own sake and for the world.

Because you gave to the poor in the past,

You now experience abundant wealth.

Do not, through greed and lack of reflection,

Fail to practice generosity.

People of the world merely calculate their wealth,

Without concern for those in need.

By lending and giving even inferior things,

In a future life one receives a hundredfold.

May you generate a magnanimous mind

And constantly undertake great works.

If one acts with a magnanimous mind,

One obtains a great result.

A petty-minded king is narrow-hearted;

Such aspirations have never brought fulfillment.

For the sake of good repute and noble works,

Act in reliance upon the Three Jewels.

Remember that a king’s mind is as light as a hair;

If his actions are unworthy of his station,

After his death he leaves an evil name.

If a king does not perform good works,

Who can undertake great deeds?

A great person is rarely found;

He can restrain those of lesser aspirations

And command that these deeds be accomplished.

The possessions one does not personally give away

Will remain behind in future lives.

If, regarding the Dharma that brings peace,

You first oppose it and then delay,

The enterprises of former emperors

Will forget their origin when they meet a new king.

Can the Dharma-bliss and good renown

Created for former kings be yours?

Using wealth brings present enjoyment;

If it is given away, it brings future joy.

If neither is done, both benefits are lost,

And only suffering, not happiness, arises.

At the end of life, though you wish to give,

Your ministers, fearing the loss of their authority,

Will certainly abandon their affection for you

And seek favor with the new king.

If you relinquish all possessions,

You should use them to propagate the Dharma.

Moreover, life always depends upon the conditions of death,

Like a lamp exposed to the wind.

The impartial meritorious works

Established by former kings—

Shrines, temples, sanctuaries, and halls for gods and spirits—

May you restore them as they were.

Abandon killing and always practice goodness;

Observe the precepts and cherish noble conduct.

Let livelihoods increase wealth without contention;

Diligently cultivate virtue.

Pure and without hoarding,

Do not abandon those undertakings.

Take the lead in establishing them,

And you will receive their merit.

The blind, the sick, and those with impaired faculties

Should be compassionately cared for, for they have no refuge.

Do not conceal them within temples;

Provide food for them impartially.

Those of virtue who ask nothing of you,

Or who dwell beyond the king’s territory,

Should likewise be given offerings;

Do so without discrimination.

For every Dharma undertaking,

Appoint diligent persons

Who are free from greed and understand goodness,

Who do not violate the Dharma and fear wrongdoing,

Who understand correct treatises and perform virtuous deeds,

Who are amiable and pure in the four contemplations,

Whose speech is gracious and who are not timid,

Who honor their superiors and uphold the precepts.

Knowing clearly the suffering of others,

They should resolve affairs properly and according to reason.

Eight persons should assist together,

For the purpose of establishing eight offices.

Gentle, broad-minded,

Courageous, and devoted to the king;

Upright and skilled in handling wealth;

Heedful and practicing goodness;

Carefully considering the work to be done;

Able separately to manage the twelve tallies;

And capable of employing the four expedient means—

Such persons should be appointed as chief ministers.

Upholding the Dharma and pure moral discipline,

Understanding affairs and knowing how to employ people,

Able to increase and safeguard the treasury,

Skilled in interpretation, writing, and calculation,

Attentive to all such matters,

Fearful of wrongdoing and close to the king,

Possessing ample wealth and a household retinue—

Proclaim their appointments as officials.

Each day you should question them

About every receipt and expenditure.

Having inquired, concerning all Dharma affairs,

Joyfully and kindly offer instruction and correction.

The royal office exists for the sake of the Dharma;

Do not seek fame or sensual objects.

The kingship is most beneficial in this way;

Anything other than this is improper.

Great King, people in the world

Mostly help one another with food and drink.

Regarding the Dharma, meaning, and nature of kingship,

Listen attentively as I speak.

Let elders within the royal domain,

And leaders of clans who discern right and wrong,

Who fear evil and are widely respected,

Be willing to observe the king’s affairs.

As for punishment, imprisonment, and flogging,

If these are administered according to reason,

The king should constantly extend great compassion

And immediately bestow kindness upon those persons.

For the benefit of everyone,

One should generate a loving mind.

If someone has truly committed grave evil,

One should all the more generate great compassion.

Those whose grievous evil makes their minds extremely harmful

Are especially worthy of compassion.

They themselves should become objects of loving-kindness;

Those who act rightly are not its only objects.

If poor persons are imprisoned,

Release them after five days.

Deal with others likewise according to reason;

Do not detain anyone indefinitely.

If, regarding a certain person,

The intention arises to keep him bound for a long time,

He will cease to care for the lives of others,

And through this his evil will persist.

Until that disposition has dissolved,

Though imprisoned, let him still be at ease;

Provide clothing and ornaments, food and drink,

And all necessary medicines.

If the king wishes to reform them,

He should rely on compassion and establish wholesome instruction.

Treat good and evil persons impartially,

Not out of anger or desire.

After clearly ascertaining the truth,

If people rise up in rebellion,

Do not kill or torment them;

May the king banish them to another land.

Regard your own household as though it were an enemy.

With eyes purified of greed,

Remain constantly mindful and heedful.

May you conduct Dharma affairs properly

And always make offerings diligently.

When someone has rendered a kindness,

Regard that beneficence as surpassingly excellent;

Repay that person in like measure.

One who receives beautiful flowers

And gives abundant fruits in return

Is like a precious tree with many branches,

Upon which all the birds depend.

A king who observes the precepts and practices generosity

Possesses authority and wins both hearts and wealth.

Like a completely round medicinal pill,

Its fragrance and flavor are likewise distinctive.

If a king relies upon right principle,

He will not commit evil deeds.

Without hardship and without violating the Dharma,

He can possess the joy of Dharma.

Kingship does not come from a former world,

Nor can it be carried into the next.

The royal throne is obtained through the Dharma;

Do not destroy the Dharma for the sake of the throne.

Kingship is like a marketplace;

The transmission of suffering is like its price.

Because you cannot obtain it immediately merely by seeking,

You should therefore act accordingly.

Kingship is like a marketplace;

A king’s succession is like an exchange.

Because you wish to obtain it immediately,

Use it as a means of spiritual cultivation.

A wheel-turning king may obtain dominion

Over all four continents,

Yet only the two joys of body and mind are real;

All outward wealth and honor are illusory.

They always counteract suffering

Because the body experiences pleasure and joy.

Mental joy is of the nature of perception;

All is produced by discrimination.

Its essence is the counteracting of suffering,

And its kind is discrimination.

All pleasures in the world

Are illusory and therefore not true.

Various dwellings and foods,

Seats and garments,

Drinks, meals, and ample bedding,

Wives, carriages, and elephants are used one at a time.

If the mind follows a single condition,

Then pleasure arises because of it;

External objects are not conditions otherwise,

Therefore they are illusory and useless.

The five faculties take the five objects as conditions;

If the mind makes no discrimination,

Although these may again become sense objects,

Pleasure does not arise from them.

These objects are conditions of the faculties;

Apart from them, the faculties cannot exist.

Therefore, beyond faculties and objects,

There is truly no meaning to be found.

When these faculties and objects become conditions,

The mind grasps images of the past,

Discriminates, and gives rise to thoughts of purity;

From these, pleasurable sensation arises.

The mind takes a single object as its condition,

Yet mind and object do not exist at the same time.

Apart from mind, there is no object;

Apart from the object, there is likewise no mind.

Taking father and mother as causes,

You say that a child is born;

In the same way, conditioned by form as its cause,

You say consciousness arises together with it.

Faculties and objects of past and future

Cannot be established, for they are nonexistent.

Since they do not emerge from those two times,

Present objects and faculties have no meaning.

Just as the eye sees a wheel of fire

Because the faculty is confused and inverted,

So too, among present objects,

The faculty's conditioning by objects is the same.

The five faculties and their spheres

Are kinds of objects composed of the four great elements.

Since none exists in its own locus,

Objects that condition faculties do not exist.

If each great element were separately established,

Then fire alone should burn without firewood.

Whether separate or inseparable,

Objects are likewise the same.

Both meanings of the four great elements are illusory,

So their combination cannot be established.

Since the four realities do not combine,

The object of form cannot be established.

Consciousness, sensation, perception, and formations—

Neither kind of their essence can be established.

They do not arise through the union of conditions;

Since they do not exist, there can be no union.

Just as discriminated pleasure and joy

Are established in dependence upon counteracting suffering,

So what is reckoned here as suffering

Is established because pleasure has been destroyed.

When joined with pleasure, attachment arises;

When conditioned by signlessness, it immediately ceases.

When separated from suffering, craving arises;

Through this contemplation, it does not arise.

Suffering is spoken of in dependence upon the world,

And mind is that which can perceive it.

Yet apart from what is perceived,

That which perceives cannot be established.

Contemplating practice, one sees the world

As neither real nor existent.

Neither grasping nor discriminating,

One enters parinirvana like a fire extinguished.

Bodhisattvas who see in this way

Do not regress from bodhi.

Guided by great compassion,

They continue onward until attaining Buddhahood.

The path cultivated by bodhisattvas

Was taught by the Buddha in the Mahayana.

Ignorant and angry people

Harm themselves by rejecting and not preserving it.

Failing to understand, they lose merit;

Toward the arising of virtue, they conceive it as loss.

Some resent and hate its excellence,

And thus they malign the Mahayana.

If they understood the harm of that offense

And the beneficial power of merit,

They would say that those who slander it

Do not understand that anger is the enemy of goodness.

Through disbelief they harm themselves,

While its single flavor is to benefit others.

The virtues cultivated by the Mahayana

Cause the slanderer to come to ruin.

The believer is harmed by rigid attachment;

The unbeliever, by hatred and anger.

If even the believer who maligns it may be burned,

How much more one filled with anger and delusion!

Counteracting poison with a stronger poison

Is something a physician may prescribe.

If evil is thereby eliminated, it is likewise so;

How could these words be considered wrong?

All dharmas are preceded by mental activity

And take the mind as foremost.

If suffering is used to eliminate that evil,

What fault is there for a person of wholesome mind?

If suffering can bring benefit,

It should be accepted—how much more so pleasure!

Whether for oneself or for others,

This has been the root principle of the Dharma since ancient times.

Because one may forsake a little pleasure

And later behold much greater happiness,

The wise relinquish the lesser pleasure,

Contemplating the greater happiness to come.

If this statement cannot be accepted,

Then a physician who prescribes painful treatments for happiness

Would commit an unforgivable offense;

Therefore, your contention is not correct.

Sometimes, upon clearly seeing a matter without doubt,

The wise act according to its meaning.

Sometimes they prohibit, and sometimes permit;

This principle is found everywhere.

The conduct and deportment of bodhisattvas

Are accomplished through wisdom preceded by compassion.

The Mahayana teaches in this way;

For what reason should it be slandered?

Because the ignorant are adrift and submerged,

The Supreme Vehicle is broad in scope and profound in meaning.

By slandering the Mahayana,

One becomes an enemy to oneself and others.

Generosity, morality, patience, and diligence,

Concentration, wisdom, and compassion as their essence—

Thus did the Buddha teach the Mahayana;

How could it contain corrupt, false doctrines?

Through generosity and morality, others are benefited;

Patience and diligence bring benefit to oneself.

Concentration and wisdom liberate oneself and others;

This briefly encompasses the meaning of the Mahayana.

Briefly stated, the Buddha's true teaching

Has as its meaning the liberation of oneself and others.

These six perfections form its treasury;

Who could cast them aside?

Merit and wisdom are its essential kinds;

The Buddha taught them as the path to bodhi

And established for it the name Mahayana.

The foolish and blind cannot accept it,

As though it were inconceivably difficult.

Because it is accomplished through merit and wisdom,

The virtues of all Buddhas are inconceivable.

Concerning the Mahayana, resolve to accept it.

The greatly virtuous Sariputra

Was admonished by the Buddha that this was not his sphere;

Thus the virtues of a Buddha are inconceivable.

Why, then, can you not accept

The non-arising taught in the Mahayana,

When the Lesser Vehicle teaches non-cessation?

Non-arising and non-cessation are one in essence;

Their meanings are not yet different.

True emptiness and the virtues of a Buddha—

If one examines them in accordance with the Dharma,

Why should the wise dispute

Over the Great and Lesser Vehicles?

What the Buddha taught as definitive meaning

Is not easily understood by those of lesser capacity.

Within the teachings of the One and Three Vehicles,

Protecting one's own essence does no harm.

Abandoning it brings no merit;

Anger is evil and unwholesome.

If you wish to cherish yourself,

You should not malign the Mahayana.

The bodhisattvas' vows and practices,

Their dedication of merit, and their emptiness—

If one practices in reliance upon the Lesser Vehicle,

How could one become a bodhisattva in essence?

The four reliances of the bodhisattva path

Are not taught in the Lesser Vehicle.

What Dharma did the Buddha cultivate

That could be said to surpass it?

If reliance upon the truths and the aids to the path

Were the same for the Buddha and for them,

Then the causes cultivated would be no different;

Why, then, would their fruits differ?

The general and specific practices of bodhi

Are not taught within the Lesser Vehicle,

But are fully present in the Mahayana;

Therefore, the wise should faithfully accept it.

Just as in the Vyakarana treatise,

The alphabet is taught first,

The Buddha established his teaching in this way

To instruct beings according to their basic and superior capacities.

In some places, he taught the Dharma

To cause them to abandon all evil;

Sometimes, to accomplish merit;

Sometimes, to rely fully upon both.

Sometimes, to transcend these two,

He taught profundity to those of lesser capacity;

Sometimes, taking compassion as supreme,

He taught it so they might attain bodhi.

Therefore, intelligent people

Should abandon anger toward the Mahayana,

And should give rise to faith and accept it,

In order to attain Unsurpassed Perfect Awakening.

Through faithfully accepting the Mahayana

And practicing the Mahayana teachings,

One attains the Unsurpassed Path,

Within which there is abundant joy.

Generosity, morality, and patience

Are practiced largely by householders.

In this Dharma, compassion stands foremost;

May you cultivate it until it becomes your nature.

Because the world is inequitable,

If the royal throne opposes the Dharma,

Then for the sake of good repute and the Dharma,

The life of renunciation is superior.

THE ROYAL TREATISE ON THE PRECIOUS CONDUCT

THE TRUE PRACTICE OF RENUNCIANTS

Chapter Five

A renunciant beginning the training

Should reverently cultivate the precepts.

Regarding the Pratimoksha and Vinaya,

One should study extensively the principles of transgression and establishment.

Then give rise to right diligence

And relinquish the coarse afflictions.

They number fifty-seven;

Listen as I now explain them.

Resentment is a distinct state of mind;

Anger is the bond that destroys it.

Concealment means hiding evil offenses,

While ostentation displays virtue amid evil.

Boastfulness seeks fame through deception;

Deceit bends the mind to manipulate meaning.

Jealousy is distress over another's virtue;

Envy is the anxious wish to cast it away.

Shamelessness and lack of moral dread

Feel no disgrace before oneself or others.

Insubordination refuses to humble oneself or respect others;

Agitation is a means employed by anger.

Intoxication thinks others unworthy of consideration;

Heedlessness fails to cultivate virtue.

Pride is of seven kinds;

I shall now explain them briefly.

If a person gives rise to discriminations,

Comparing the low with the low and all such cases,

Or comparing the inferior with the superior,

This is called pride.

When an inferior person considers himself

Equal to another inferior person,

This is called inferior pride,

Because he lowers himself in this way.

When an inferior person elevates himself

And considers himself equal to one who is superior,

This affliction is called superior pride,

Because he exalts himself above his station.

When an inferior person reckons himself

Superior to another who is superior,

This is called pride beyond pride,

Like a boil rising upon a blister.

Within the five appropriated skandhas,

Self-nature is empty and there is no person;

Yet through delusion one conceives an I—

This is called self-pride.

Though one has not truly attained the noble path,

One claims already to have attained it.

Because the path is bounded by the notion of I,

This is called pride of superiority.

If, because of committing evil,

A person considers himself superior

And further disparages another's virtue,

This is called perverse pride.

Thinking, “I now have no need of it,”

Though one's own state is inferior—

This too is called inferior pride,

For it arises by taking oneself as its condition.

For the sake of seeking gain, support, and praise,

One restrains the six faculties

While inwardly harboring greed, desire, and intention;

This affliction is called arrogance.

For the sake of obtaining offerings and support,

One speaks affectionate words to others.

Or, relying on worldly convention,

One speaks words of gratitude

Because one wishes to obtain that object;

Or one praises the beauty of something.

This is called giving an indication;

One should thus examine one’s own mind.

Because one wishes to obtain what one seeks,

One first refrains from criticizing another.

This is called flattery and reproach,

By which one may induce another to comply.

Through giving, one desires to seek gain;

Or one first praises another’s virtues.

This is called the desire to seek gain.

These five wrong ways are included in wrong livelihood.

If a person, because of another, suffers loss,

That state of mind has many names;

It is called covert injury.

This may gather into a subsequent state of mind,

Fearful and unable to find peace.

Because of ignorance and illness,

One is content with what is base and coarse.

Frivolity and indolence,

Desire, anger, delusion, and defiled perceptions—

These have exceedingly many names.

Failing to observe things as they presently are

Is called lack of reflection.

Being indolent regarding proper conduct

Is called irreverence.

Failing to honor one’s teacher

Is called disrespect.

When desire has arisen in the mind,

While outwardly one merely maintains a name,

The mind clings to it and desire is born;

At its extreme, this is called pervasive attachment.

When desire arises from possessions,

The dissatisfied mind is called covetousness.

Attachment to that object

Is called improper desire.

Seeking women who are not proper objects

Is called unlawful desire.

Having no virtue oneself, yet displaying virtue,

Is called evil desire.

Forsaking contentment and constantly seeking

Is called great desire.

Wishing others to know one’s virtues

Is called the desire for recognition.

Being unable peacefully to endure suffering

Is called impatience.

With regard to honoring one’s teacher and proper duties,

Deviant conduct is called shamelessness.

When taught wholesome things in accordance with the Dharma,

Responding contemptuously is called being difficult to admonish.

Being affectionately attached to relatives

And thinking of them is called thoughts of kinship.

Because of desire for various places,

Thinking of obtaining them is called thoughts of place.

Being unconcerned about and unafraid of death

Is called thoughtlessness of death.

Because of genuine merit,

One wishes others to honor oneself;

Thinking thus in connection with their recognition

Is called conforming thought upon thought.

Because of attachment and a hateful mind,

One thinks of harming another.

Arising in relation to oneself and outsiders,

This is called thoughts of harming others.

Worried recollection that defiles the mind

And has no support is called disquiet.

A sunken body is called torpor;

Sluggishness is called indolence.

Whether arising from a deluded, elated mind

Or manifesting through the body, it is called yawning.

When the body is unsettled and eating is unrestrained,

This is called intoxication with food.

When body and mind are truly exhausted,

This is called debility.

Craving and attachment toward the five sense objects

Are called sensual desire.

The intention to injure another,

Arising from nine causes and conditions,

And resentment over harms in the three times,

Is called anger.

Because body and mind are heavy,

Incapacity for activity is called weakness.

A remorseful mind is called drowsiness.

Because body and mind tremble, there is agitation;

Because evil deeds give rise to remorse,

The subsequent burning anguish

Is called regret.

Regarding the Three Jewels and the Four Noble Truths,

Hesitation is called doubt.

If renunciant bodhisattvas

Completely abandon these coarse states,

And can forsake these evils,

The virtues that counteract them readily arise.

Among these, the various virtues

Should be cultivated and purified by bodhisattvas:

Giving, morality, patience,

Diligence, concentration, wisdom, compassion, and the rest.

Relinquishing one’s possessions is specifically called giving;

Initiating benefit for others is called morality.

Freedom from anger is called patience;

Gathering wholesome qualities is called diligence.

A peaceful and tranquil mind is called concentration;

Penetrating the true meaning is called wisdom.

Toward all sentient beings,

The single flavor of bringing benefit is called compassion.

Giving produces wealth, and morality produces happiness;

Patience produces affection, and diligence burns away defilements.

Concentration brings tranquility, and wisdom brings liberation;

Compassion produces every benefit.

If these seven qualities are perfected,

Each reaches its ultimate consummation,

The inconceivable domain of wisdom,

And brings one to the state of the Blessed One.

Just as within the Lesser Vehicle

The various stages of the shravakas are taught,

So too, within the Great Vehicle,

The Ten Grounds of the bodhisattvas are taught.

The First Ground is Joyous,

Abiding in extraordinary joy

Because the three have been utterly extinguished

And one is born into the family of the Buddhas.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of giving becomes manifest.

Throughout a hundred Buddha-worlds,

One attains unshakable mastery.

Throughout the continents of Jambudvipa,

One becomes a great wheel-turning king,

Constantly turning in the world

Both the precious wheel and the Dharma wheel.

The Second is called Stainless.

Body, speech, mind, and deeds—

All ten kinds become purified,

And one attains mastery of their intrinsic nature.

As the fruit of this ground,

The cultivation of morality becomes manifest.

Throughout a thousand Buddha-worlds,

One attains unshakable mastery.

Like the divine sage Shakra, Lord of the Devas,

One can dispel the devas’ attachment to desire.

Neither heavenly maras nor non-Buddhist practitioners

Are able to disturb one.

The Third is called Luminous.

The radiance of pure wisdom arises;

Through concentration and supernormal powers,

Desire, anger, and delusion are extinguished.

As the fruit of this ground,

The cultivation of patience becomes manifest.

Throughout ten thousand Buddha-worlds,

One attains unshakable mastery.

As the Lord of the Yama Heaven,

One relinquishes the body and perceives habitual tendencies.

All attachments upheld by false teachers

One can refute and correct through the teaching.

The Fourth is called Radiant.

The brilliant fire of wisdom gives forth light.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of diligence becomes manifest.

One extensively cultivates the factors of the Path,

Thereby extinguishing defilements and giving rise to the Path.

As the Lord of the Tushita Heaven,

One eliminates the views and precepts of non-Buddhist paths.

Because one has attained mastery over birth,

Throughout the Buddha-fields of the ten directions

One comes and goes without obstruction.

The remaining meanings are as on the preceding grounds.

The Fifth is called Difficult to Conquer.

Neither maras nor those of the Two Vehicles can attain

The subtle meaning of the Noble Truths

That is realized and seen upon this ground.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of concentration becomes manifest.

One becomes Lord of the Heaven of Delight in Creation

And guides those of the Two Vehicles toward the Great Vehicle.

The Sixth is called Manifest,

For one is rightly directed toward the Buddha-Dharma.

Through the cultivation of concentration and wisdom,

One realizes the perfection of cessation.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of prajna becomes manifest.

In the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Creations,

One can teach and clarify conventional truth.

The Seventh is called Far-Going.

Far-Going proceeds onward without interruption;

In each successive thought-moment, one realizes

Non-arising and non-cessation.

As the fruit of this ground,

Skillful wisdom in means becomes manifest.

One becomes a Great Brahma King

Who can penetrate the ultimate meaning.

Realizing supreme wisdom in skillful means,

One continuously brings forth the Six Perfections.

Within the conventional teachings of the Three Vehicles,

One becomes the foremost teacher.

The Youthful Ground is Immovable,

Because one never departs from true contemplation.

It is nonconceptual and difficult to know,

Beyond the domains of body, speech, and mind.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of vows is always manifest.

One becomes a Brahma lord of Supreme Universal Radiance,

Masterful in pure lands.

Those of the Two Vehicles cannot attain this.

Regarding the single meaning of ultimate and conventional truth,

One cultivates both activity and tranquility,

Accomplishing the two benefits without needing to hear instruction.

The Ninth is called Good Wisdom,

The station of the Dharma King’s Crown Prince.

Here, wisdom is supreme

Because one has penetrated the four unobstructed eloquences.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of powers is always manifest.

One becomes a Brahma King of Universal Purity,

And no difficult question among the four kinds remains unanswered.

The Tenth is called Dharma Cloud,

For it can rain down the rain of the true Dharma.

Bathed by the light of the Buddhas,

One receives the Buddhas’ consecration.

As the fruit of this ground,

The perfection of knowledge is always manifest.

One becomes a Brahma King of the Pure Abodes,

The Lord of the Great Sovereign Heaven.

Its wisdom is truly inconceivable;

Within the secret treasury of the Buddhas,

One attains complete mastery.

In one’s next birth, one occupies the place of a successor Buddha.

Thus have I explained

The ten kinds of bodhisattva grounds.

The Buddha Ground differs from them,

Being replete with supreme virtues beyond measure.

This ground, stated constantly in brief,

Is associated with the Ten Powers.

Each and every one of these powers

Is immeasurable like space.

Even if explained in this manner,

The virtues of the Buddhas are limitless,

Like the space of the ten directions

And like earth, water, fire, and wind.

The limitless virtues of the Buddhas

Are difficult for others to believe.

If one does not perceive causes such as these,

How could one fathom fruits such as these?

For the sake of these causes and fruits,

Before a Buddha shrine,

Three times each day and three times each night,

Resolve to recite these twenty verses:

To the Buddhas, the Dharma, and the Sangha,

And to all bodhisattvas,

I bow, take refuge,

And offer reverence and respect.

I abandon every evil,

Embrace and uphold every good,

And rejoice in and follow

All the wholesome deeds of sentient beings.

With my head and face I bow to the Buddhas;

With palms joined, I beseech them to remain.

I pray that they will turn the Dharma wheel

Throughout all future lives in samsara.

Whatever virtue I have produced through this,

Whether already created or yet to be created,

By these causes, may sentient beings

All arouse the mind of bodhi,

Pass beyond every hindrance and adversity,

Perfect their stainless faculties,

And all accord with pure livelihood.

May their endeavors be freely accomplished,

All without limit;

May they possess precious hands

Throughout endless future lives.

May sentient beings be thus.

May all women

Become supreme persons.

May they at all times

Be fully endowed with knowledge and conduct,

With beautiful forms and majestic virtue,

Their lovely appearance delightful to behold.

May they be free from illness and complete in strength,

And may they likewise enjoy long lives.

May they be liberated from all suffering and fear,

Single-mindedly taking refuge in the Three Jewels,

Skillful in means,

Regarding the Buddha-Dharma as their great treasure,

And abiding in loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, purity, and equanimity.

Ever abiding in the Four Brahma Abodes,

Giving, morality, patience, and diligence,

Meditative concentration, wisdom, hardship, and adornments—

May I be fully endowed with practices of merit and wisdom.

May the radiance of my excellent marks shine forth;

May those vows be difficult to fathom.

May I traverse the Ten Grounds unobstructed,

And accord with these virtues.

Adorned with virtues outwardly,

May I pass beyond all things through liberation.

May I compassionately cherish sentient beings

And be fully endowed with every goodness.

May I bring happiness to sentient beings

And dispel all their sufferings.

May I always be thus.

If any are afraid,

At any time or place,

Through merely thinking of or uttering my name,

May they be freed from every suffering.

Whether they revere and trust me or are angry with me,

Whether they see me or keep me in mind,

Even if they merely hear my name,

May they be assured of bodhi.

May I attain the five superknowledges

And always accompany every being.

May I always be able to engender

Goodness and happiness in sentient beings.

If they wish to commit evil

Anywhere in all the worlds,

May I completely put an end to that evil

And lead them, in accordance with reason, to cultivate virtue.

Like earth, water, fire, and wind,

Medicinal herbs and forest trees,

However they wish to make use of them,

May I willingly endure and accept it myself.

May I cherish them

As dearly as my own life.

May I keep sentient beings in mind

Far more than I cherish myself.

May the full karmic result

Of the evil they create ripen upon me;

And whatever good I shall perform,

May its karmic fruit ripen upon them.

So long as even one person remains unliberated,

Wherever there is a path of rebirth,

May I remain there for that being

And not attain bodhi first.

One should practice in this way.

If merit could be measured,

Even throughout worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

The merit of this could not be reckoned.

The Buddha, the Blessed One, himself declared:

Just as these causes are inexhaustible,

And the realm of sentient beings is immeasurable,

So too are the vows to benefit them.

I have explained this Dharma in brief;

One should thereby bring benefit to oneself and others.

May you cherish this Dharma

As lovingly as you cherish your own body.

Whoever cherishes this Dharma

Truly cherishes himself.

What ought to be cherished here should make one abhor evil;

This abhorrence is accomplished through the Dharma.

Therefore, regard the affairs of the Dharma as your own body,

And your own affairs as the affairs of the Dharma.

If one acts with wisdom,

It is wisdom as practiced by the wise.

Pure, compliant, and endowed with wisdom,

May such a person expound right principles.

Through one's own wrongdoing, one suspects others;

Such a person harms his own affairs.

This is a spiritual friend;

You should clearly discern the initial signs:

Contentment, loving-kindness, compassion, morality,

Wisdom, and the ability to restrain evil.

A good friend is able to instruct you;

Understand this, revere him, and act accordingly.

Through supreme inner and outer virtues,

A person will surely reach a good destination.

True to his vows, speaking loving words,

May his joyful nature remain unmoved.

May he increase righteous affairs and be free from deceit;

May you yourself be easy to instruct.

Having relinquished, may you be without regret;

Though fire burns, may your mind remain calm.

Neither indolent nor wavering,

Neither arrogant nor discordant,

May you be luminous and clear like the moon,

Radiant like the heavens,

Profound as the great ocean,

And steadfast as the king of mountains.

Free from attachment to every fruit,

Adorned with manifold virtues,

And of service to sentient beings,

May you attain omniscience.

I shall not always remain a king,

So proclaim such wholesome Dharma

In accordance with reason for the sake of others,

Out of the wish to benefit all.

Great King! You should listen

To this Righteous Treatise every day,

So that both yourself and others

May attain unsurpassed bodhi.

Supreme morality, reverence for superiors,

Patience without jealousy,

Not flaunting wealth, and contentment;

Providing relief in times of hardship,

Doing good, while gathering in

And restraining evil persons;

Always protecting the Buddha's true Dharma—

These should be practiced by one who seeks bodhi.

The Precious Garland of Advice for a King

End