楞伽阿跋多羅寶經
Chinese title:楞伽阿跋多羅寶經
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At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! I beseech you to expound samyaksambodhi for sentient beings, so that I and the other great bodhisattvas may thoroughly awaken ourselves and awaken others regarding the self-nature of the Tathagata.”
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
“Ask whatever you wish, and I shall explain according to your questions.”
Bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Is the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, created or uncreated? Is he an effect? Is he a cause? Is he a characteristic? Is he that which is characterized? Is he speech? Is he that which is spoken? Is he cognition? Is he that which is cognized? Are such expressions different or not different?”
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
“The Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, with respect to these expressions, is neither an effect nor a cause. Why is this? Because either position entails error.
Mahamati! If the Tathagata were an effect, he would be either created or impermanent. If he were said to be impermanent, then all effects would be Tathagatas; neither I nor any of the Buddhas teach this.
If he were not created, then nothing whatsoever could be attained, and the Dharma of skillful means would become empty, like a hare’s horns or the child of a barren woman, because neither has any existence at all. Mahamati! If there is neither effect nor cause, then there is neither existence nor nonexistence.
If there is neither existence nor nonexistence, one falls into the four propositions. The four propositions belong to worldly discourse. If one departs from the four propositions, one does not fall into them; not falling into the four propositions is the realization of the wise.
The import of all the Tathagatas’ statements is likewise so. Mahamati, you should know that, as I have taught, all dharmas are without self. To understand the meaning of non-self is to understand the nature that is devoid of self.
All dharmas have their own nature and not another’s nature, as with an ox and a horse. Mahamati! An ox does not possess the nature of a horse, and a horse does not possess the nature of an ox.
In truth, they are neither existent nor nonexistent, yet this does not mean that they have no individual nature. Thus, Mahamati, it is not that all dharmas lack their own characteristics. They have their own characteristics, yet are without self; this cannot be known by ordinary people through their deluded conceptualizations.
When it is said that all dharmas are empty, unborn, and without self-nature, the meaning should be understood as explained above.
“The Tathagata teaches that the five skandhas are neither different nor not different. If they were not different, they would be impermanent; if they were different, the means by which they are established would become empty. If they were regarded as two, there would necessarily be difference.
Consider an ox’s horns: because each resembles the other, they are not different; because they differ in length and shortness, they are different. All dharmas are likewise. Mahamati!
Just as an ox’s right horn differs from its left horn, and its left horn differs from its right horn, with their various forms and appearances, their length and shortness, each differing from the other, so too is this the case. Mahamati! The Tathagata teaches that the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas are neither different nor not different.
Therefore, the Dharma taught by the Tathagata is called liberation. If the Tathagata were different from liberation, he would necessarily be constituted by material form. If constituted by material form, he would be impermanent.
If he were not different from liberation, then the practitioner’s characteristic of liberation could not be distinguished; yet practitioners perceive distinctions. Therefore, they are neither different nor not different, just as knowledge and the jñeya, the object of knowledge, are neither different nor not different.
“Mahamati! To say that ‘knowledge and the jñeya are neither different nor not different’ means that they are neither permanent nor impermanent, neither created nor that which is created, neither conditioned nor unconditioned, neither cognition nor that which is cognized, neither characteristic nor that which is characterized, neither the skandhas nor different from the skandhas, neither speech nor that which is spoken, neither one nor different, neither the same nor not the same.
Because they are neither one nor different, neither the same nor not the same, they transcend all measures. Transcending all measures, there is no discourse. Where there is no discourse, there is no arising; where there is no arising, there is no cessation; where there is no cessation, there is quiescence.
Quiescence is the self-nature of nirvana. The self-nature of nirvana is without effect and without cause. Being without effect and without cause, it is free from dependent attachment.
Being free from dependent attachment, it transcends all falsehood. That which transcends all falsehood is the Tathagata, and the Tathagata is the Samyaksambuddha. Mahamati!
The samyaksambodhi of the Buddha transcends all faculties and measures.”
At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The Dharma transcends all faculties and measures,
Being without effect and also without cause.
Having transcended cognition and the cognized,
It also transcends characteristic and the characterized.
The skandhas and conditions are the same in perfect enlightenment;
Neither unity nor difference can be seen.
If reality cannot be seen,
How can distinctions be made?
Neither created nor uncreated,
Neither effect nor cause,
Neither the skandhas nor apart from the skandhas,
Nor is there any other dharma.
The various natures do not exist
As they are seen through deluded conceptualization.
Each and every dharma is likewise,
Neither existent nor nonexistent.
Because of existence, nonexistence is spoken of;
Because of nonexistence, existence is spoken of.
If NONEXISTENCE cannot be established,
How then can EXISTENCE be present?
Whether regarding self or non-self,
They cling to verbal expressions.
Submerged in the two extremes,
They ruin themselves and ruin the world.
Creating errors that obstruct liberation—
I contemplate the characteristic of direct realization.
Not maligning the Great Teacher:
This is called right contemplation.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! As taught in the sutras spoken by the World-Honored One, it is said that what is embraced is neither born nor extinguished. The World-Honored One also says that ‘neither born nor extinguished’ is another name for the Tathagata. Why does the World-Honored One, on account of the absence of self-nature, say that ‘neither born nor extinguished’ is another name for the Tathagata?”
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
“I say that all dharmas are neither born nor extinguished because neither the dharma of EXISTENCE nor that of NONEXISTENCE appears.”
Bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:
“If all dharmas are unborn, then the dharma that embraces them cannot be apprehended, because that embracing dharma itself is unborn. If all dharmas are unborn, how can any dharma exist within names and words? I beseech the Buddha to explain this clearly.”
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
“Excellent, excellent! Listen attentively and remember well. I shall distinguish and explain this for you.”
Bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:
“I respectfully await your instruction.”
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
“I do not say that the Tathagata is without self-nature, nor that he neither arises nor ceases while embracing all dharmas. Nor do I say that he neither arises nor ceases independently of conditions, or that this is devoid of meaning. Mahamati! I say that the mind-born Dharma-body is a designation of the Tathagata. That UNBORNNESS of which I speak is not the realm of any non-Buddhist, shravaka, pratyekabuddha, or even a bodhisattva of the seventh stage.
“Mahamati! That meaning of UNBORNNESS is another designation of the Tathagata. Mahamati! Consider Indra’s jeweled net and the term ‘not Indra’: such things each have many names, yet they do not have many natures merely because they have many names; nor are they without their own nature.”
– Thus, Mahamati! In this Saha world, I have three asamkhyeyas of hundreds of thousands of names. Ordinary beings all hear them, and each calls Me by one of these names, yet they do not know that these are different names of Me, the Tathagata. Mahamati! Some beings know Me as the Tathagata; some know Me as the Omniscient One; some know Me as the Buddha; some know Me as the Savior of the World; some know Me as the Self-Enlightened One; some know Me as the Guide; some know Me as the Expounder of the Path; some know Me as All Paths; some know Me as the Divine among Humans; some know Me as Brahma (the Pure One); some know Me as a Deva; some know Me as the Sovereign One; some know Me as the Supreme One; some know Me as the Golden-Haired Seer; some know Me as Reality; some know Me as the Moon; some know Me as the Sun; some know Me as the Lord; some know Me as the Unborn; some know Me as the Undying; some know Me as Emptiness; some know Me as Suchness; some know Me as Ultimate Truth; some know Me as the Limit of Reality; some know Me as the Dharma-nature; some know Me as Nirvana; some know Me as the Eternal; some know Me as Equality; some know Me as Nonduality; some know Me as the Signless; some know Me as Liberation; some know Me as the Path; some know Me as Birth, and so forth. Mahamati! With three asamkhyeyas of hundreds of thousands of names such as these, neither more nor fewer, beings in this world and other worlds all know Me, just as the moon reflected in water neither emerges nor enters. Ordinary beings cannot know Me because they have fallen into the two extremes. Yet they all reverently make offerings to Me, though they do not skillfully understand words, names, and phrases; they have no direct realization of their own, cannot distinguish names from meanings, and moreover cling to each written character and spoken expression. Regarding the unborn and undying, they consider it to be nonexistence. They do not know that although the Tathagata's distinct names are numerous, their meaning is fundamentally not different, just as the one Shakra also has many names. Because they do not know how direct realization returns to the source, they pursue verbal expressions in regard to all dharmas and cling to them.
– Mahamati! Those foolish people say: “Meaning is just as verbal expression; meaning and verbal expression are not different. Why? Because meaning has no substance of its own, and apart from verbal expression there is no other meaning; there is only verbal expression.” Their wisdom is consumed by wrong views. They do not know the intrinsic nature of verbal expression; they do not know that verbal expressions arise and cease, whereas meaning neither arises nor ceases. Mahamati! All verbal expressions fall within written characters, but meaning does not fall within them. Because meaning is apart from existence and nonexistence, it does not undergo birth, nor does it possess a substance of its own. Mahamati! The Tathagata does not teach a Dharma that falls within written characters, for neither the existence nor the nonexistence of written characters can be apprehended.
– Mahamati! If anyone says that the Tathagata teaches a Dharma that falls within written characters, that person speaks falsely, for the Dharma is apart from written characters. Therefore, Mahamati, I, together with all Buddhas and bodhisattvas, have not spoken a single word and have not answered with a single word. Why? Because the Dharma is apart from written characters; it is not that I teach meanings that bring no benefit to sentient beings. I merely say that verbal expression is the delusion of sentient beings. Mahamati! If I did not teach all dharmas, the teaching would perish. If the teaching perished, there would be no Buddhas, bodhisattvas, shravakas, or pratyekabuddhas; then who would teach the Dharma, and to whom would it be taught?
– Therefore, Mahamati! A great bodhisattva should not cling to verbal expressions, but should extensively teach the sutras and Dharma through skillful means appropriate to circumstances. Because the afflictions and aspirations of sentient beings are not the same, I and all Buddhas teach various dharmas according to the differing understanding of each sentient being, enabling them to transcend mind, mentation, and consciousness. We do not teach the state attained through the Noble Wisdom of Self-Realization.
– Mahamati! All dharmas are originally devoid of anything whatsoever. If one awakens to the direct perception that is a manifestation of one's own mind, one is freed from the two kinds of delusion. Great bodhisattvas rely upon this meaning and do not rely upon written words. If good men and faithful women rely upon written words, they destroy the Ultimate Meaning within themselves. They can neither awaken themselves nor awaken others, but fall into a continuous succession of wrong views and teach the Dharma to sentient beings. They do not skillfully and fully understand all dharmas, all stages, and all characteristics, nor do they understand the meaning of phrases. If they skillfully know all dharmas, all stages, and all characteristics, thoroughly comprehend the meaning of phrases, and are fully endowed with the nature of meaning, they can personally experience the signless bliss of the true Dharma and establish the impartial Mahayana for sentient beings.
– Mahamati! One who embraces the Mahayana embraces all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. By embracing all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas, one embraces all sentient beings. By embracing all sentient beings, one embraces the true Dharma. By embracing the true Dharma, one ensures that the lineage of the Buddhas is not severed. When the lineage of the Buddhas is not severed, one can fully understand the supreme state of entry and attainment. To fully understand that supreme state of entry and attainment means that great bodhisattvas constantly attain mind-born transformation bodies, establish the impartial Dharma of the Mahayana as circumstances require, manifest numerous forms and appearances through the power of the Ten Sovereign Powers (1), comprehend the various kinds of afflictions, dispositions, and aspirations of sentient beings, and teach them the Dharma in accordance with reality. “In accordance with reality” means that there is no differentiation. The characteristic of reality is neither going nor coming, and all falsehood has ceased; this is called Reality. Mahamati! Good men and faithful women should not embrace and cling to things according to verbal expressions, for true meaning is apart from written words.
(1) THE TEN SOVEREIGN POWERS: Also called, in brief, the Ten Powers, these are the ten sovereign powers of the Tathagata. They are:
1.- The power of knowing what is and what is not the case. The knowledge of the meanings and principles of things comes through the sovereign power of one's own mind knowing itself, not through the force of discriminative knowledge.
2.- The sovereign power of knowing the causes, effects, karma, and recompense of all sentient beings throughout the three times.
3.- The sovereign power of knowing the various meditative concentrations, liberations, and samadhis.
4.- The power of knowing each of the various understandings of all sentient beings.
5.- Knowing the different realms of each sentient being in the world.
6.- Universally knowing all dharmas in precise accordance with the limit of reality.
7.- Knowing the various courses of practice and causes of the conditioned, outflowing dharmas of the world and the unconditioned, outflow-free dharmas beyond the world, from the Five Precepts and Ten Wholesome Actions up to Nirvana.
8.- Possessing the unobstructed divine eye, seeing and knowing the wholesome and unwholesome karmic conditions, births, and deaths of all sentient beings.
9.- Knowing the former lives of all sentient beings and the outflow-free Nirvana.
10.- Knowing all habitual tendencies of delusion and confusion, and utterly ending them so that they do not arise again, in precise accordance with the limit of reality. These are called the Ten Sovereign Powers.
– Mahamati! It is just as when ordinary beings point to an object with a finger: if one looks only at the finger, one does not apprehend the true meaning. Likewise, if ordinary beings embrace and cling to the verbal expressions of the pointing finger, they will ultimately be unable to attain the true Ultimate Meaning, which is apart from the finger of verbal expression. Mahamati! It is like feeding a small child: one should give the child cooked food, not raw food. If one gives the child raw food, it may cause illness. Those who pursue verbal expressions because they do not understand the successive stages of skillful means by which the meaning of the Dharma matures are just the same. Therefore, Mahamati! Regarding the unborn and undying Dharma, a practitioner who does not understand skillful means does not practice well. Thus, practitioners must skillfully cultivate expedient means and should not follow verbal expressions like those who look at the finger but fail to see what the finger indicates. Therefore, Mahamati! Practitioners should skillfully understand the true meaning through expedient means. The true meaning is the cause of the subtle, quiescent Nirvana; verbal expressions are the conjunction of delusions, and delusion is the accumulation of birth and death.
– Mahamati! The true meaning is attained through one who is learned in many teachings. Mahamati! To be LEARNED IN MANY TEACHINGS means to penetrate the meaning, not to cling to words and statements. To PENETRATE THE MEANING means not to follow the scriptures and treatises of any of the non-Buddhist schools—neither following them oneself nor causing others to follow them. Such a one is called a Greatly Virtuous One Learned in Many Teachings. Therefore, those who wish to seek the meaning should draw near to those learned in many teachings, and then they will penetrate the meaning. Those who act contrary to this meaning are attached to words and statements and should therefore be kept at a distance.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati, again through the Buddha’s awe-inspiring spiritual power, addressed him, saying:
– Blessed One! The Dharma of non-arising and non-ceasing revealed by the Blessed One is nothing extraordinary. Why is this? All the non-Buddhist schools establish the doctrine of a CAUSE and also speak of non-arising and non-ceasing. The Blessed One likewise says that nirvana, which is not the cessation of conditions subject to enumeration, is non-arising and non-ceasing. Blessed One! The non-Buddhist schools say that the world arises from causes and conditions, while the Blessed One also says that the world arises with the delusive conceptions of ignorance, karma, and craving as its conditions. They speak of a cause, while here conditions are spoken of; these are merely different terms. The causes and conditions of all things are likewise so. There is no difference between the doctrines established by the Blessed One and those of the non-Buddhist schools. The non-Buddhist schools speak of atoms, the Primal Principle, Ishvara, living beings, a creator, and so forth. They hold that there are nine entities that neither arise nor cease. The Blessed One also says that the nature of all things neither arises nor ceases, and that neither existence nor nonexistence can be apprehended. The non-Buddhist schools also say that the four great elements are indestructible, that their intrinsic nature neither arises nor ceases, and that the four great elements are eternally the four great elements—even as they revolve through the six paths of samsara, they never depart from their intrinsic nature. What the Blessed One teaches is also like this. Therefore, I say that there is nothing extraordinary about it. I now beseech the Blessed One to teach this assembly a Dharma that is distinctive and more wondrous than the teachings of the non-Buddhist schools. If there is no difference between these teachings, then all followers of non-Buddhist schools must also be Buddhas, since they likewise teach non-arising and non-ceasing. Moreover, the Blessed One has said that it is impossible for many Buddhas to appear in one world. Yet according to the teaching stated above, there must be many Buddhas in one world, because there is no difference between the teachings of the non-Buddhist schools and those of the Buddha.
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
– The NON-ARISING AND NON-CEASING of which I speak is not the same as the non-arising and non-ceasing taught by the non-Buddhist schools. Why is this? The non-Buddhist schools cling to the existence of an intrinsic nature and thereby conceive a characteristic of non-arising and immutability. I am not like them, falling into existence and nonexistence. Mahamati! The Dharma I teach transcends existence and nonexistence and transcends arising and ceasing. It is neither nature nor the absence of nature. Each and every dharma appears like a dream or an illusion and therefore is not sheer nonexistence. It is said to be WITHOUT NATURE because forms and appearances have no intrinsic nature that can be apprehended: they appear as though not appearing and are apprehended as though not apprehended. Therefore, it is said that the nature of all things is without nature, yet it is also not sheer nonexistence. Once one awakens to the direct perception that everything is a manifestation of one’s own mind, delusive conceptions no longer arise; one abides in peace and bliss, and worldly affairs cease forever.
– Ignorant ordinary beings act through delusive conceptions, but the noble sages do not. They know that delusive conceptions are unreal, like a city of the gandharvas or magically created people. Mahamati! In a city of the gandharvas there appear magically created people, merchants, and all kinds of beings entering and leaving. Through delusive conception, ordinary beings imagine that real people are entering and leaving, but in truth no one enters or leaves. Likewise, Mahamati, ignorant ordinary beings give rise to deluded notions concerning non-arising and non-ceasing. Yet in truth, for magically created people there is neither the conditioned nor the unconditioned, neither arising nor ceasing, because such magically created people fundamentally do not exist. All dharmas are likewise: apart from arising and ceasing, both nature and the absence of nature are utterly nonexistent. Ignorant ordinary beings fall into views and attachments that do not accord with reality and give rise to delusive conceptions of arising and ceasing. The NONCONFORMITY WITH REALITY spoken of by the noble sages is not like this. Yet nature, non-nature, and delusive conception are not different. If they were different from delusive conception, one would cling to the intrinsic nature of all things and would not behold quiescence. If one does not behold quiescence, one can never transcend delusive conception. Therefore, Mahamati, it is incorrect to see characteristics; only seeing the absence of characteristics is correct. “Seeing characteristics” is the cause of taking birth and therefore is incorrect. When there are no characteristics, delusive conceptions do not arise; there is neither arising nor ceasing. This I call nirvana. Mahamati! Nirvana means seeing the true meaning, transcending the mind and mental factors of delusive conception, and ultimately attaining the Tathagata’s noble wisdom of self-realization. This I call nirvana.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
Eliminating doctrines of causal arising,
I establish the meaning of non-arising.
Such is the Dharma that I teach,
But ordinary beings cannot understand it.
All dharmas are non-arising,
Without nature and utterly nonexistent.
Like a city of the gandharvas,
Or dreams and illusions, they have no cause.
Non-arising has no intrinsic nature;
What cause could the Dharma of emptiness have?
Because it is apart from conjunction,
The nature known by awakening does not appear.
Therefore, dharmas are empty and non-arising;
I say that they have no intrinsic nature.
Through each and every conjunction,
They appear, yet do not truly exist.
When analyzed, no conjunction can be found;
Such is the view and attachment of non-Buddhist schools.
Like dreams, illusions, and flowers in the sky,
And like a city of the gandharvas,
Each and every worldly phenomenon
Appears in form though causeless.
Subduing doctrines that assert a cause,
I reveal the meaning of non-arising.
When the Dharma of non-arising is revealed,
The stream of Dharma is not cut off.
Non-arising means having no cause;
The non-Buddhist schools are terrified by it.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati asked in verse:
What is that which serves as the cause?
Through what cause does arising occur?
Where does conjunction take place,
That a doctrine of no cause is established?
The Blessed One replied in verse:
When conditioned dharmas are contemplated,
They are neither caused nor causeless.
The non-Buddhist doctrines of arising and ceasing,
And the views and attachments arising from them, are extinguished.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again asked in verse:
What is non-arising?
Does it mean the absence of nature?
Or, through contemplating the various conditions,
Is there a dharma called NON-ARISING?
Surely a name is not devoid of meaning?
I beseech you to explain it distinctly.
The Blessed One again replied in verse:
Non-arising is not the absence of nature,
Nor does it mean contemplating various conditions;
Nor is it a name assigned to an existing nature.
Though it has a name, it is not meaningless.
It is not the domain of non-Buddhist schools,
Of shravakas or pratyekabuddhas,
Nor even of those at the seventh stage;
This is called the characteristic of non-arising.
Far removed from all causes and conditions,
And also apart from all phenomena,
Established as mind-only,
Both conception and the conceived are transcended.
The physical body turns according to karma;
This I call non-arising.
There is neither nature nor external nature,
Nor anything apprehended by mind.
All views and attachments are ended;
This I call non-arising.
Many meanings of EMPTINESS are distinguished;
Though not sheer nothingness, it is called EMPTY.
Because it is non-arising, it is called EMPTY;
Thus it has no intrinsic nature.
Through the conjunction of causes and conditions,
There are arising and ceasing.
Apart from the categories of causes and conditions,
There is fundamentally no arising or ceasing.
Apart from the categories of causes and conditions,
There is no other nature.
To speak of unity or difference
Is the delusive conception of non-Buddhist schools.
Existing nature, nonexistence, and non-arising
Are neither existent nor nonexistent.
Apart from the transformations of categories,
Nothing whatsoever can be apprehended.
There are only conventional categories,
Which condition one another to form a chain.
The chain of causes and conditions being transcended,
Ordinary beings cannot understand.
If the chain of conditions is transcended,
The meaning of ARISING cannot be apprehended.
The nature of non-arising does not arise,
And is free from the errors of non-Buddhist schools.
Only the chain of conditions is spoken of,
But ordinary beings cannot understand.
If, apart from the chain of conditions,
There were some other nature of arising,
That would be a doctrine of no cause,
Destroying the meaning of the chain.
Just as a lamp reveals forms and appearances,
So too does the chain make them manifest.
If, apart from the meaning of the chain,
There were still other natures,
Those natures would all be without nature,
Like the nature of empty space.
What is apart from the chain is likewise so;
The wise make no distinctions.
Non-arising is not another dharma;
It is the Dharma of the noble sages.
One who attains the Dharma of non-arising
Realizes the patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas.
If there are those in the world
Who contemplate the chain,
And transcend all its links,
They thereby attain right samadhi.
Karma, craving, greed, anger, and delusion
Are the inner chain of the mind.
Clay, a fire-drill, and wood
Are seeds belonging to the external world.
The inner and outer arise by conditioning one another.
Suppose there were another nature,
It would not bear the meaning of bondage;
That Dharma could not be established.
If ARISING has no self-nature,
Who then creates the meaning of bondage?
Because they arise from one another in succession,
This is called the meaning of causes and conditions.
From the deluded conceptions of ordinary beings arise
The dharmas of earth, water, fire, and wind.
Apart from enumeration, there is no other dharma;
This is the teaching of non-nature.
Just as a physician treats illnesses,
Because illnesses differ,
He establishes various theories
To cure each particular illness.
For the sake of all sentient beings,
I sever their afflictions.
According to their higher or lower capacities,
I teach them the gateways to liberation.
The root of the afflictions does not differ,
Yet there are various teachings.
This is called the Dharma of the One Vehicle,
And it is also called the Mahayana.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! All non-Buddhists give rise to deluded conceptions of impermanence, and the World-Honored One also teaches that all conditioned things are impermanent and are dharmas of arising and ceasing. World-Honored One! What is the meaning of this? Is it erroneous or correct? How many kinds of impermanence are there?”
The Buddha told Mahamati:
“All non-Buddhists hold seven kinds of impermanence, but these are not the Dharma that I teach. What are the seven? Some say that ‘what has been created is then relinquished’ and call this impermanence.
Some say that the destruction of shape and location is impermanence. Some say that the material substance itself is impermanent. Some say that impermanence occurs amid the process of transformation: the substances themselves continuously disintegrate without interruption, like the transformation of milk into curds and ghee; the transformation itself cannot be seen, and the impermanent destruction of every nature through transformation is likewise.
Some speak of the impermanence of nature. Some speak of the impermanence of nature and non-nature. Some speak of the impermanence in the non-arising of all dharmas, and so forth.
They apply these views of impermanence to all dharmas.
1. Mahamati! Non-Buddhists say that WHAT IS CREATED IS IMMEDIATELY RELINQUISHED IS IMPERMANENCE. I say that, apart from one who first creates impermanence, it cannot pertain to the four great elements. Because the four great elements do not arise, they possess the meaning of PERMANENCE. If there were some dharma distinct from the four great elements, each having its own different characteristic, then no distinction could be apprehended, because that distinction itself could not be created again. Since neither of the two discriminations can be created—there being neither one who first creates impermanence nor one who first creates permanence—you should know that impermanence is itself permanence.
2. Non-Buddhists say that THE DESTRUCTION OF SHAPE AND LOCATION IS IMPERMANENCE. I say that the four great elements and the material forms created by the four great elements are not destroyed; ultimately, they are indestructible. Mahamati! ‘Ultimately’ means that, when they are analyzed down to the finest particles and the destruction of the four great elements and their created forms is examined, the distinctions of long and short, shape and location, cannot be apprehended; therefore, these are not the four great elements, and thus it is said that the four great elements are indestructible. To maintain that ‘shape and location are destroyed’ is to fall into the doctrine of the Samkhyas.
3. Non-Buddhists say that MATERIAL SUBSTANCE ITSELF IS IMPERMANENT. This, too, is the impermanence of shape and location, not of the four great elements. If the four great elements were impermanent, there could be no conventional discourse, because conventional discourse has no intrinsic nature. To see that all natures consist only of verbal expressions, without seeing the arising of their own characteristics, is to fall into the worldly doctrine.
4. Non-Buddhists speak of THE IMPERMANENCE OF TRANSFORMATION. I say that the material substance appears different in its characteristics, but the four great elements themselves are not different. It is like gold fashioned into many ornaments: the transformations appear different, but the nature of the gold is not different; only the ornaments differ. The transformation of those natures is likewise.
5. Mahamati! To speak of THE IMPERMANENCE OF NATURE is a deluded conception of one’s own mind, which grasps a nature that is not permanent as impermanent.
Why is this? It speaks of the impermanence of an indestructible self-nature. Mahamati!
This is the non-nature of all natures, and this is what is called impermanence. Apart from impermanence, there is nothing that can render the nature of all dharmas devoid of nature. It is like sticks, tiles, and stones: although their characteristics differ, after they are destroyed, each is seen to be no different.
This is the impermanence of things; it is not that the agent and the object acted upon differ. This is what impermanence means. Since the agent and the object acted upon are not different, all natures are without cause.
A nature without cause is permanent. Mahamati! That all natures are devoid of nature yet have causes cannot be known by ordinary beings.
If there were no causes, dissimilar things would arise from one another—just as a plum tree might produce a peach tree, or a peach tree might produce a mango tree, and so forth. If such arising occurred, the assertion that all natures are entirely impermanent would be erroneous.
“In this arising of dissimilar things, the agent and the object acted upon would not differ, yet differences would still be seen. If one speaks of the impermanence of nature, one falls into the view that the characteristics of nature have a cause and an agent. If there is an agent, then all natures are not ultimate. If all natures fall within characteristics possessing an agent, then the agent is impermanent and the object acted upon is also impermanent. If both agent and object acted upon are impermanent, then all natures are not impermanent, because impermanence perpetually produces impermanence and is therefore permanent.
“If impermanence is attributed to all natures, the meaning of the three times is destroyed. For example, if past form were impermanent, it could not avoid destruction. If it had already been destroyed, future form could not arise; and if form did not arise, the characteristic of present form would likewise be the same as destruction.
What is called FORM is the accumulation of the four great elements and possesses distinctive characteristics. The self-natures of the four great elements and of the forms created by them are indestructible, apart from both difference and non-difference. With regard to this meaning of indestructibility, all non-Buddhists are unable to know that, throughout the three realms, the nature of the four great elements and the forms created by them is fundamentally indestructible; therefore, they posit arising and ceasing.
Apart from the forms created by the four great elements, on what basis could all non-Buddhists conceive of the nature of impermanence? Since the characteristic of self-nature is indestructible, the characteristic of self-nature does not arise.
6. Mahamati! To speak of THE IMPERMANENCE OF NATURE AND NON-NATURE means that, apart from the four great elements and what is created by them, when their own characteristics are destroyed, the self-nature of the four great elements cannot be apprehended; this is precisely non-arising.
7. To speak of THE IMPERMANENCE OF NON-ARISING means that neither permanence nor impermanence applies. All existent and nonexistent dharmas are unborn; when analyzed down to the finest particles, they cannot be seen. This is the meaning of non-arising. What does not arise is called the characteristic of the impermanence of non-arising. If one does not awaken to this meaning, one falls into the non-Buddhist doctrine that gives rise to the meaning of impermanence.
“Each of the non-Buddhists, through deluded conception, holds such views of impermanence. It is as when the four great elements are burned, yet their own characteristics do not burn. If the characteristic of each self-characteristic were burned and destroyed, each created form would have to be annihilated, but in truth this is not so.
“Mahamati! The Dharma I teach is neither permanent nor impermanent. Why?
Because nothing apart from nature can be definitively established. Therefore, I teach only that the three realms are mind-only; I do not teach that each and every characteristic arises and ceases. The differences in the combination of the four great elements arise from deluded discrimination concerning the four great elements and the forms created by them.
There are the two—the apprehender and the apprehended. If one knows that both are deluded conceptions and abandons the two views regarding whether external nature exists or does not exist, one awakens to the fact that the direct perception of one’s own mind arises through the activities of self-characteristics, and that discrimination then comes into being. The characteristics of the karma thus performed are called the arising of deluded conception; it is not that the absence of thought and activity is called deluded conception.
Apart from the mind’s deluded conceptions of nature and non-nature, all worldly dharmas, supramundane dharmas, and even dharmas transcending the supramundane are neither permanent nor impermanent. If one does not know the direct perception of one’s own mind, one falls into the continuous evil views of the two extremes. All non-Buddhists, because of their own deluded conceptions, do not know the three kinds of characteristics of dharmas—the worldly, the supramundane, and the supreme characteristics of dharmas that transcend the supramundane—and, relying upon deluded verbal conceptions, they expound various dharmas.
The realm that I teach is neither permanent nor impermanent. It cannot be understood by ordinary beings, because they have not awakened to the direct perception of their own minds.”
At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke in verse:
Apart from an initial creator,
And distinctions of shape and location,
To say that the nature of form is impermanent
Is the deluded conception of non-Buddhists.
All natures cannot be destroyed;
The nature of the four great elements abides in itself.
The non-Buddhists’ conception of impermanence
Is to be submerged in attachment to views.
Dharmas may arise or cease,
Yet the nature of the four great elements is ever-abiding.
Why, then, do the non-Buddhists
Again conceive the notion of impermanence?
The apprehending and the apprehended—
All are created by mind alone.
Following these two, mind continues to flow,
Producing self and what belongs to self.
They speak of Brahma as the root of the tree—the self—
And its branches and leaves pervading the world—what belongs to the self.
According to the Dharma I have taught,
These are merely created by their minds.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! I beseech you, for the sake of the assembly, to explain the characteristics of the successive stages of the attainment of cessation entered by all bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. If we thoroughly understand the characteristics of the successive stages of the attainment of cessation, then I and the other bodhisattvas will not mistakenly relinquish the joy of the Dharma gateway of the attainment of cessation, and ultimately will not fall into the delusion of any non-Buddhists, shravakas, or pratyekabuddhas.”
The Buddha told Mahamati:
“Listen attentively and remember well. I shall explain it for you.”
Bodhisattva Mahamati said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! I reverently await your instruction.”
The Buddha told Mahamati:
“Bodhisattvas from the First Ground through the Sixth Ground realize the selflessness of persons and enter the attainment of cessation in the same way as shravakas and pratyekabuddhas. Because they still emerge from and enter this samadhi, they cannot yet enter it from thought-moment to thought-moment. Bodhisattvas on the Seventh Ground enter the attainment of cessation free from all characteristics of existence and nonexistence.
Although they possess the nature of nirvana, they do not abide in it. They are unlike those of the Two Vehicles, who grasp the joy of right concentration, regard right concentration as wholesome, and enter the attainment of cessation by relying upon conditioned phenomena, thereby falling into the realm of the apprehending and the apprehended, with activity and awareness. Therefore, bodhisattvas on the Seventh Ground enter the attainment of cessation from thought-moment to thought-moment without thinking that the attainment of cessation is wholesome.
They realize that the characteristics of all dharmas are undifferentiated and do not discriminate among existent dharmas, nonexistent dharmas, wholesome dharmas, and unwholesome dharmas.
“Mahamati! Bodhisattvas on the Eighth Ground relinquish the storehouse consciousness. Not only do the individual characteristics of all dharmas cease, but even the false discriminations of mind, mentation, and consciousness found among shravakas and pratyekabuddhas also cease.
Through the contemplative practices cultivated from the First Ground through the Seventh Ground, bodhisattvas see that all dharmas throughout the three realms are merely manifestations of the measure of their own mind, mentation, and consciousness. They become free from self, what belongs to self, and so forth, which likewise cease, and they do not perceive any individual characteristics in dharmas outside the mind. Non-Buddhists give rise within their own minds to false conceptual discrimination and cultivate it delusively.
Perceiving characteristics to be attained in external dharmas, they fall into the various characteristics of external natures. These are the two forms of consciousness to which ordinary beings and non-Buddhists cling. Using their own minds to apprehend their own minds, they perceive an apprehending and an apprehended and consequently declare that everything is annihilated.
They do not understand that, because they are perfumed by false and deceptive habitual tendencies from beginningless time, they cut off the Buddha-nature.
“Mahamati! Although the samadhi attained by bodhisattvas on the Eighth Ground is somewhat similar to that of shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas are sustained by perfect enlightenment; therefore, despite experiencing the joy of samadhi, they do not enter nirvana. Without the sustaining power of perfect enlightenment, they would, like those of the Two Vehicles, rest content in their own peace.
They would be unable to attain complete equality with the Great Tathagata, would personally realize nirvana, and would abandon all sentient beings. If they did not teach sentient beings the Dharma of conditioned phenomena so as gradually to guide them into the Tathagata’s knowledge and vision, the lineage of the Buddhas would be severed. Because the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, wish to enable those of the Two Vehicles to continue the lineage of the Buddhas, they reveal the immeasurable and inconceivable merits of the Tathagata.
Yet shravakas and pratyekabuddhas delight in abiding in the joy of samadhi, refuse to turn their minds toward advancement into the Great Vehicle, and consider themselves to have already realized nirvana.
“Mahamati! The reason I emphasize the ‘Seventh Ground’ is that I wish practitioners skillfully to cultivate expedient means; to become free from the characteristics of mind, mentation, and consciousness and from views that cling to self and what belongs to self; to embrace the selflessness of persons, the selflessness of dharmas, and the Four Unobstructed Eloquences; and to attain decisive power in the gateways of samadhi.
From the successive factors of the path cultivated previously, they then advance in stages to the Eighth Ground and onward to the Tenth Ground. Fearing that bodhisattvas might fail to understand thoroughly the individual and common characteristics and the successive stages of the grounds, and thus fall into the wrong views of non-Buddhists, I established the successive order of the grounds. Mahamati!
Apart from the direct perception of one’s own mind, in truth there are no dharmas arising or ceasing, no successive order of the grounds, and no severing of the various deluded practices that cause one to fall into the three realms. It is only because ordinary beings are not awakened that I and the Buddhas teach the successive order of the grounds and teach the Dharma of severing the various deluded practices within the three realms.
“Furthermore, Mahamati! Bodhisattvas on the Eighth Ground wish to eliminate the shravakas’ and pratyekabuddhas’ delight in abiding in the joy of samadhi. They know that those practitioners do not skillfully awaken to the direct perception of their own minds with respect to individual and common characteristics; that they are obstructed by intoxication with the wine of habitual tendencies; that they fall into views that grasp the selflessness of persons and dharmas; and that they falsely conceive this to be nirvana, though it is not the wisdom of quiescence realized through self-awakening.
Mahamati! When bodhisattvas behold the quiescent joy of the gateways of samadhi, through the fulfillment of their original vows and great compassion they pity sentient beings, discern and thoroughly understand the Ten Inexhaustible Vows, and do not abide in the false conception of nirvana. Because they know that all things are originally in nirvana, false conceptions do not arise.
They are free from the apprehending and the apprehended of false conception and awaken to the direct perception of their own minds in relation to all dharmas. Because false conceptions do not arise, they do not fall into mind, mentation, and consciousness, nor into characteristics of false conception that cling to external natures as possessing self-nature. Within the Buddha-Dharma, there is no cause that does not arise; things arise in accordance with wisdom.
Thus they realize the Tathagata’s Ground of Self-Awakening.
“It is like a person in a dream who employs expedient means to cross a river but awakens before crossing it. After awakening, the person wonders whether the crossing was right or wrong, or neither right nor wrong. Because that person recollects the various habitual tendencies of seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing from beginningless time, the mind falls into characteristics of existence and nonexistence with respect to various forms and places. Thus a dream becomes manifest within mind, mentation, and consciousness, causing the person to think in this way.
“Mahamati! In the same way, great bodhisattvas on the Eighth Ground perceive the source from which false conceptions arise. Having advanced from the First Ground through the Seventh Ground, they see all dharmas as illusions.
After using expedient means to liberate the falsely conceiving mind from the apprehending and the apprehended, they employ the expedient means of the Buddha-Dharma to enable those who have not yet attained realization to attain it. Mahamati! This is the bodhisattvas’ expedient means of not being cut off in nirvana.
Free from mind, mentation, and consciousness, they attain the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Mahamati! In the ultimate truth, there is no successive order.
To say that ‘false conception has no existence whatsoever’ is the Dharma of quiescence.”
At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke in verse:
The Buddhas of the three times teach
That the measure of mind has no existence whatsoever.
Bodhisattvas abiding upon the grounds
Reach the ground of Buddhahood.
The measure of mind within the storehouse consciousness
Is not completely extinguished on the Seventh Ground.
Only on the Eighth Ground is it wholly extinguished.
The two grounds, the Seventh and the Eighth,
Are both called Grounds of Abiding.
The Buddha-ground is called Supreme,
Where the wisdom of self-awakening is pure.
In that supreme state of mastery,
It shines like a glowing fire;
Its radiance pervades everywhere,
Brilliant yet not dazzling to the eyes.
Whether teaching beings in the present
Or having taught them in the past,
Upon reaching this point, they proclaim the One Vehicle,
And all enter the Ground of the Tathagata.
The grounds are established within the One Vehicle,
But in truth they have no successive order.
The Tenth Ground is like the First Ground,
The First Ground is like the Eighth Ground,
The Ninth Ground is like the Seventh Ground,
The Seventh Ground is like the Eighth Ground,
The Second Ground is like the Third Ground,
The Fourth Ground is like the Fifth Ground,
And the Third Ground is like the Sixth Ground;
They interpenetrate and have no successive order.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Is the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, permanent or impermanent?”
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– The Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One is neither permanent nor impermanent, for both positions entail faults. If one says that he is PERMANENT, there is the fault of an agent that acts. All non-Buddhist schools say, “There is eternally an agent.” If permanence is produced through action, it is not true permanence. With regard to true permanence, the Tathagata does not even perceive any characteristic of permanence that can be attained; how much less could permanence be produced through action? Therefore, such an assertion entails a fault.
– If one says that the Tathagata is IMPERMANENT, there is the fault that whatever is produced is IMPERMANENT. Non-Buddhist schools regard the five skandhas as produced, but both the perceiving and perceived characteristics of the five skandhas are devoid of self-nature and must ultimately be annihilated, whereas the Tathagata is not annihilated. Mahamati! All that is produced is impermanent, like jars, garments, and so forth; all entail the fault of impermanence. If so, all the meritorious skillful means produced by Omniscience to liberate sentient beings would become meaningless, because they are produced. If they had meaning, then everything produced in the world would be the same as what is produced by the Tathagata, since there would be no distinction in their nature. Therefore, the Tathagata is said to be neither permanent nor impermanent.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! The Tathagata is not PERMANENT in the manner of empty space. If he were permanent like empty space, he would become insentient, unconscious emptiness, whereas the noble wisdom of self-realization is fully endowed with wondrous awareness. Thus, to say “permanent like empty space” entails the fault of meaninglessness. Mahamati! Empty space, for example, is neither permanent nor impermanent; it transcends permanence and impermanence, identity and difference, both and neither, and is therefore inexpressible. Thus, the Tathagata is not PERMANENT.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! If the Tathagata were PERMANENT because he is unborn, then the horns of a hare or a horse would likewise be permanent because they are unborn. The Dharma of skillful means would then become meaningless. Because this entails the fault of “permanence through being unborn,” the Tathagata is not PERMANENT.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! There is another respect in which the Tathagata may be known as PERMANENT. Why? Because the wisdom attained is permanent, the Tathagata is PERMANENT.
– Mahamati! Whether a Tathagata appears in the world or does not appear in the world, the established Dharma ever abides. The Dharma realized by shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and all Buddha-Tathagatas abides perpetually without interruption; yet it is not unconscious like the abiding permanence of empty space, nor can ordinary beings comprehend it. Mahamati! The wisdom attained by the Tathagata is perfumed by prajna; it is unlike the mind, manas, and consciousness of those non-Buddhist schools, which are perfumed by the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas. Mahamati! The entire three realms arise from unreal delusion, whereas the Tathagata does not arise from unreal delusion. Mahamati! Permanence and impermanence exist because of two mutually opposed dharmas; they do not pertain to the nondual Dharma. The nondual Dharma is quiescent, because all dharmas are devoid of the two characteristics of arising. Therefore, the Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One is neither permanent nor impermanent. Mahamati! Whenever verbal discrimination arises, there is the fault of permanence and impermanence. When discriminating cognition ceases, one leaves far behind the ordinary beings’ attachment to the views of permanence and impermanence. Through false discrimination, ordinary beings conceive each dharma as permanent, impermanent, or neither permanent nor impermanent. Being perfumed by dharmas of arising and cessation, even though they possess wisdom, they cannot attain quiescence.
At that time, wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
Speaking all manner of meaningless words,
One gives rise to the faults of permanence and impermanence.
From these, doctrines are established,
Containing many confused meanings.
If discrimination does not arise,
One forever transcends permanence and impermanence.
Equanimously contemplating the measure of one’s own mind,
Speech is found to be unattainable.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again said to the Buddha:
– Blessed One! We beseech the Blessed One to teach us about the arising and cessation of the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas. If these things have no self-nature—a self—then who arises and who ceases? Ordinary beings rely upon arising and cessation; they do not know nirvana and cannot bring suffering to an end.
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– Excellent! Listen attentively, and I shall explain it for you.
Bodhisattva Mahamati said to the Buddha:
– We beseech you to instruct us.
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– The Tathagatagarbha reveals the causes of good and evil and universally produces the various classes of sentient beings, just as a magician conjures various illusory persons; yet it is free from self and what belongs to a self. Non-Buddhist schools do not know that arising occurs through the skillful conjunction of the three conditions—faculties, objects, and consciousness—and they further cling to the existence of an agent. This is due to being perfumed since beginningless time by the false habitual tendencies of erroneous views. It is called storehouse consciousness. From it arises ignorance abiding on its ground; together with the seventh consciousness, it gives rise to defiled and pure dharmas, like waves rising upon the sea, continually arising without cease. Yet when freed from the fault of impermanence and from the non-Buddhist doctrine of a permanent divine self, its self-nature is undefiled and originally pure.
– The other consciousnesses, however, arise and cease. In every thought-moment, the mental consciousness creates the causes of unreal delusion, grasping the various realms of forms, places, names, and characteristics. It does not know that material appearances are manifestations of one’s own mind. It does not transcend suffering and pleasure and does not reach liberation. Bound by names and characteristics, craving arises and then gives rise to further craving. If the conditions appropriated by the faculties cease, continuity does not arise. If one becomes free from the delusions of one’s own mind and no longer experiences suffering or pleasure, one may enter the attainment of cessation, enter the realm of the fourth dhyana, or skillfully cultivate liberation through the True Principle; yet one merely realizes the principle of one-sided emptiness. Practitioners regard this as liberation, delight in dwelling in nirvana, and neither abandon nor transform it. This is called the “Tathagatagarbha storehouse consciousness,” that is, the storehouse consciousness within the Tathagatagarbha.
– Because non-Buddhist schools, through the seventh consciousness, grasp the eighth consciousness as a divine self, they continue transmigrating without cessation. Consequently, the consciousnesses grasp at objects. This is not the realm of cultivation of shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, because they have not awakened to non-self and still apprehend individual and common characteristics, thereby giving rise to the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas. If one sees the nature of the Tathagatagarbha, the five dharmas, the three self-natures, and the non-self of persons and dharmas all cease.
– Advancing successively and continuously through the stages, one is not shaken by the views and attachments of non-Buddhist schools. This is called abiding in the Bodhisattva’s Immovable Stage. One realizes the ten kinds of blissful gateways of samadhi, yet through one’s own vow does not accept the bliss of samadhi. Sustained by the wisdom and awakening of samadhi, one contemplates the inconceivable Buddha-Dharma and ultimate reality, advancing toward the noble wisdom of self-realization. One does not follow the paths of cultivation of any shravaka, pratyekabuddha, or non-Buddhist school. One attains the ten lineages of sages and saints, transcends the practice of samadhi, and enters the Tathagata’s mind-made body of the wisdom-body. Therefore, Mahamati! Great bodhisattvas who seek supreme progress should purify themselves of the names and characteristics of the Tathagatagarbha and storehouse consciousness.
– Mahamati! If there were no names and characteristics of storehouse consciousness and Tathagatagarbha, there would be no arising or cessation; yet ordinary beings, sages, and saints all experience arising and cessation. Practitioners of the noble wisdom of self-realization do not relinquish skillful means and manifestly abide in the bliss of the Dharma. Mahamati! This Tathagatagarbha and storehouse consciousness are perceived by the minds and thoughts of all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas. Although its self-nature is pure, it is obscured by adventitious defilements and is therefore still perceived as impure; this is not the vision of the Tathagata. Mahamati! The realm immediately present to the Tathagata is as clearly seen as an amalaka fruit resting in the palm of his hand.
– Mahamati! With regard to this meaning, I establish it through spiritual power, enabling Queen Srimala and the bodhisattvas endowed with luminous wisdom and so forth to expound and proclaim the names and characteristics of the Tathagatagarbha and the storehouse consciousness, as well as their co-arising with the other seven consciousnesses. Because the sravakas remain attached and still perceive a person and the selflessness of dharmas, Queen Srimala, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring spiritual might, taught that the realm of the Tathagata is not the realm of the Two Vehicles or the followers of non-Buddhist paths. Regarding the Tathagatagarbha and the storehouse consciousness, only Buddhas and bodhisattvas who rely upon discerning wisdom concerning the meaning possess the wisdom of this realm. Therefore, you and the great bodhisattvas should diligently cultivate and study the Tathagatagarbha and the storehouse consciousness; you should not consider merely hearing and knowing about them to be sufficient.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The Tathagatagarbha is profound,
And together with the seven consciousnesses,
It gives rise to two kinds of grasping;
The wise should abandon them.
Beginningless habitual perfuming
Is like images appearing in the mirror of mind.
Those who contemplate things as they truly are
See existence as nonexistence.
Fools observing the moon
Observe only the pointing finger, not the moon.
Clinging to written words,
They do not see the true meaning.
Mind performs the work of an illusionist,
Manas is the illusionist’s assistant,
The five consciousnesses are fellow performers,
And deluded conceptualization is the spectator.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati said to the Buddha:
– Blessed One! I beseech you to teach the five dharmas, the three self-natures, the consciousnesses, the two kinds of selflessness, and the distinguishing characteristics of the ultimate, so that I and the other great bodhisattvas may discern these dharmas through the successive continuity of all the bhumis and enter all the Buddha-Dharma. By entering all the Buddha-Dharma, we shall reach the Tathagata’s stage of self-realization.
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– Listen attentively and bear this well in mind.
Bodhisattva Mahamati said to the Buddha:
– I respectfully await your instruction.
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– I shall now explain the five dharmas, the three self-natures, the consciousnesses, the two kinds of selflessness, and the distinguishing characteristics of wisdom. THE FIVE DHARMAS are: Name, Characteristic, Deluded Conceptualization, Right Wisdom, and Suchness. If practitioners cultivate according to this Dharma, they enter the Tathagata’s noble wisdom of self-realization, relinquish views that cling to annihilation or permanence, existence or nonexistence, and so forth, directly abide in right samadhi, and presently experience the bliss of Dharma. Mahamati! Not knowing the five dharmas, the three self-natures, the consciousnesses, the two kinds of selflessness, and that external phenomena are manifestations of one’s own mind constitutes the deluded conceptualization of ordinary beings, not the realization of sages.
Bodhisattva Mahamati said to the Buddha:
– Blessed One! How does the deluded conceptualization of ordinary beings arise, as opposed to the realization of sages?
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– Ordinary beings cling to conventional names and characteristics and are carried along as their minds flow. As they are carried along, all manner of appearances manifest, and they fall into views of a self and what belongs to a self. Clinging to and yearning for wondrous forms, they become ignorant. Obstructed by ignorance, they give rise to defiled attachment. Once defiled attachment has arisen, greed, anger, and delusion produce accumulated karma; once karma has accumulated, deluded conceptualization arises and binds them, just as silkworms spin cocoons and bind themselves. Sentient beings fall into the ocean of birth and death and wander through the wilderness of the six realms, turning ceaselessly like a wheel. Because they are deluded, they do not know that the characteristics of arising, abiding, and cessation arise from the deluded conceptualizations of their own minds. These are like magical illusions, like motes of dust fluttering about, and like the moon in water; they do not arise from a creator, time, minute particles, or a supreme principle.
– NAME means that deluded ordinary beings, following the current of names and characteristics, give rise to every kind of unreal conceptualization and establish all manner of designations. This is called Name.
– CHARACTERISTIC means that what is illuminated by eye-consciousness is called form; what is distinguished by ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, and mind-consciousness is called sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas. This is called Characteristic.
– DELUDED CONCEPTUALIZATION means provisionally establishing numerous names to indicate various characteristics. Through conceptual thought, names such as elephant, horse, carriage, man, woman, and so forth are falsely established. This is called Deluded Conceptualization.
– RIGHT WISDOM means seeking names and characteristics and finding them unobtainable, like travelers on a road who have no abiding place. All forms of discrimination do not arise; one neither holds annihilationism nor eternalism and does not fall into the views of any follower of non-Buddhist paths, sravaka, or pratyekabuddha. This is called Right Wisdom.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! SUCHNESS means that, through this right wisdom, great bodhisattvas neither establish names and characteristics nor refrain from establishing names and characteristics. When they relinquish both affirmation and negation, as well as the dualistic views of opposition, names and characteristics do not arise. This is called Suchness.
– Mahamati! Having abided in Suchness, great bodhisattvas attain the realm in which nothing exists and realize the Bodhisattva’s Bhumi of Joy. Having attained the Bodhisattva’s Bhumi of Joy, they forever abandon the erroneous views of all followers of non-Buddhist paths and properly abide in the supramundane stage. The characteristics of the Dharma mature, and they discern the illusory characteristics of all dharmas. Through self-realization, they know that the characteristics of dharmas are free from all deluded conceptualizations; seeing the nature of their diverse characteristics, they advance successively to the Dharma Cloud Bhumi. During this process, the powers of samadhi and spiritual mastery unfold everywhere, and they realize the Tathagata Bhumi. Having attained the Tathagata Bhumi, they illuminate perfectly and manifest all manner of transformations to bring sentient beings to fulfillment, yet they do not abide in sentient beings, just as the reflection of the moon does not abide in water. Thus, they ultimately fulfill the Ten Inexhaustible Vows and expound the Dharma distinctly for each sentient being. This Dharma-body is free from the activities of the mind. It is called “That Which Bodhisattvas Attain by Entering Suchness.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again said to the Buddha:
– Blessed One! How is it? Are the three self-natures included within the five dharmas, or does each possess its own distinct characteristic?
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– The three self-natures, the eight consciousnesses, and the two kinds of selflessness are all included within the five dharmas. Mahamati! NAME and CHARACTERISTIC constitute the imagined self-nature. Mahamati! When mind and mental dharmas arise based upon deluded conceptualization, they are said to arise simultaneously, just as sunlight simultaneously illuminates the distinct characteristics of each thing. Because the sixth consciousness discriminates, while the seventh consciousness grasps and sustains, and they condition one another’s arising, this is called the Dependently Arisen Self-Nature. Mahamati! RIGHT WISDOM and SUCHNESS are the indestructible nature, called the Perfected Self-Nature.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! The deluded conceptualizations manifested by one’s own mind appear as eight distinct consciousnesses, namely: the storehouse consciousness—the eighth consciousness; manas—the seventh consciousness; mind-consciousness—the sixth consciousness; and the first five consciousnesses—eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. If the characteristics of self and what belongs to self, grasper and grasped, and all unreal deluded conceptualizations are completely extinguished, the two kinds of selflessness arise. Therefore, Mahamati! The sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, Tathagatas, the noble wisdom of self-realization, the successive continuity of all the bhumis, and all the Buddha-Dharma are entirely encompassed within these five dharmas.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! I shall now briefly restate the five dharmas: Appearance, Name, Discrimination, Suchness, and Right Knowledge. APPEARANCE means that places, forms, visible images, and so forth appear with distinguishing characteristics; this is called Appearance. NAME means that names are assigned according to appearances, as a vase is named “vase,” and a robe is named “robe,” and not something else; this is called Name. DISCRIMINATION means provisionally establishing many names to indicate appearances, such as discriminating a vase, a robe, and so forth, as they appear within the mind and its mental dharmas; this is called Discrimination. SUCHNESS means that this name and that appearance possess no awareness, and that dharmas cannot successively give rise to one another; apart from unreal discrimination, they are ultimately unobtainable. This is called Suchness. RIGHT KNOWLEDGE means the true and definitive realization that the ultimate intrinsic nature is unobtainable and is only Suchness. I and all Buddhas, in accordance with the ways in which sentient beings enter, universally teach the Dharma, provisionally establishing skillful means and revealing to them the meaning of reality, so that they may thereby enter right awakening, know that dharmas are neither annihilated nor eternal, cease to give rise to discrimination, and accord with the Noble Wisdom of Self-Realization. This characteristic of the Dharma cannot be attained by any non-Buddhist, shravaka, or pratyekabuddha; this is called Right Knowledge. Mahamati! These are collectively called the five dharmas. In truth, the three intrinsic natures, the eight consciousnesses, the two kinds of non-self, and all the Buddha-Dharma are entirely encompassed within these five dharmas. Therefore, Mahamati, you should cultivate and study them through skillful means, and you should also teach others to follow this true Dharma correctly and not to follow other teachings.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The five dharmas and three intrinsic natures,
Together with the eight kinds of consciousness,
And the two kinds of non-self,
Are all encompassed within the Mahayana.
Appearance, Name, and Discrimination
Belong to worldly dharmas;
Suchness and Right Knowledge
Belong to supramundane dharmas.
The two natures cannot be destroyed;
Therefore, this is called the PERFECTED INTRINSIC NATURE.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
– Blessed One! As the Blessed One has taught in the words of this doctrine, the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, also teach in this way. What does this mean, Blessed One? Should all this be accepted in faith exactly as stated, or does it have some other meaning? I beseech the Tathagata, out of compassion, to explain it to us.
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– Do not say that it should be accepted in faith exactly as stated. The number of Buddhas of the three periods of time is not like the sands of the Ganges. Why? Because it transcends worldly expectations and cannot be illustrated by analogy. Because ordinary beings and non-Buddhists cling to discriminations, nurture wrong views, and fall into beginningless and endless birth and death, and because I wish to cause them to grow weary of the cycle of birth and death and diligently practice for liberation, I provisionally establish a skillful means and tell them, “Buddhas are easy to see, unlike the udumbara flower, which is difficult to encounter.” This is like establishing a conjured city merely as a skillful means to satisfy their aspirations. At other times, after observing the faculties of those being taught and transformed, I say, “A Buddha is extremely difficult to encounter, like the udumbara flower. In truth, no one has seen an udumbara flower in the past, sees one now, or will see one in the future, whereas Tathagatas are seen everywhere throughout the world.” It is not for the sake of establishing the self-realized penetration that it is said that a Tathagata’s appearance in the world is like an udumbara flower. Mahamati! The establishment of self-realized penetration transcends worldly expectations and cannot be believed by ordinary beings. Nothing can serve as an analogy for the realm of the Noble Wisdom of Self-Realization, because the True Tathagata transcends the characteristics perceived and known by mind, manas, and consciousness, and therefore cannot be illustrated by analogy. Mahamati! Nevertheless, there is no fault in my analogy that “the Buddhas are like the sands of the Ganges.”
– Mahamati! It is like the sands of the Ganges: though all fish, turtles, lions, elephants, horses, humans, beasts, and so forth may trample upon them, the sands do not think that they are being disturbed and thereby give rise to discrimination. In the same way, the Noble Wisdom of Self-Realization is likened to the Ganges, sovereign spiritual powers are likened to its sands, and all non-Buddhists, humans, beasts, and so forth are likened to those who cause disturbance; yet the Tathagata does not thereby produce thoughts or give rise to discrimination. Because the Tathagata is quiescent and extinct, without thought or conception, through his original vows he employs samadhi to enable sentient beings to end greed and anger and attain peace and bliss, without being disturbed thereby. The intrinsic nature of the Tathagata, Arhat, and Perfectly Enlightened One is pure and undefiled, just like the sands of the Ganges, without any difference.
– The sands of the Ganges, for example, have the intrinsic nature of the earth element. When the conflagration at the end of an eon comes and burns up the entire earth element, the earth element does not relinquish its intrinsic nature. This is because the earth element and the fire element arise together among the four great elements. Yet ordinary beings, through discrimination, imagine that the earth element is burned, whereas in truth it is not burned, because fire and earth share a single cause among the four great elements. Thus, Mahamati, the sands of the Ganges are indestructible, because they and the Tathagata abide within the one Dharma-body. (For the Tathagata’s Dharma-body pervades all of space.)
– Mahamati! Just as the sands of the Ganges are immeasurable, so too is the radiance of the Tathagata immeasurable, universally illuminating all the assemblies throughout the Buddha-lands in order to bring sentient beings to accomplishment. Mahamati! Just as, apart from the sands of the Ganges, one can ultimately find no other sands, so too, Mahamati, the Tathagata, Arhat, and Perfectly Enlightened One has no birth and death, arising or cessation, because he has severed the causes and conditions of arising and cessation.
– Mahamati! Just as neither increase nor decrease can be discerned in the sands of the Ganges, so too, Mahamati, the Tathagata’s wisdom, which brings sentient beings to accomplishment, neither increases nor decreases, because it is not a material body. A material body can be destroyed, but the Tathagata’s Dharma-body is not a material body and therefore cannot be destroyed. Just as no oil can be obtained by pressing the sands of the Ganges, so too, when the Tathagata delivers all suffering and afflicted sentient beings, he gives rise to great compassion through the samadhi of his original vows and never abandons the Dharma-realm. No matter how sentient beings who have not yet realized nirvana may afflict the Tathagata, he never gives rise to anger or resentment.
– Mahamati! Just as the sands of the Ganges flow along with the current, and cannot flow by themselves without water, so too the dharmas taught by the Tathagata flow with the current of nirvana. The Dharma cannot emerge by itself apart from nirvana, just as sand cannot flow by itself apart from water. Nirvana is the original limit of birth and death and bears the characteristic of quiescent extinction; therefore, it cannot be known. If even knowing it is impossible, how can one speak of the meaning of cessation?
Bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:
– Blessed One! If the original limit of birth and death cannot be known, how then can the liberation of sentient beings be known?
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– When the causes of false discrimination and habitual tendencies accumulated since beginningless time are extinguished, one realizes that external objects are merely manifestations of one’s own mind, and the body born of discrimination is transformed into liberation. Liberation is not annihilation; it is quiescent extinction. Because quiescent extinction has no boundary, it is limitless, yet it is not nonexistent. Non-Buddhists, through discrimination, once again suppose that there are innumerable and boundless distinctions bearing many different names. When the wise examine the inner mind and external objects, they see that apart from discrimination there are no distinctions among sentient beings; knowledge and its objects, and all dharmas, are entirely quiescent. Because beings do not know that discrimination is manifested by their own minds, discrimination arises. Once this is known, all becomes quiescent and extinct; this is called liberation.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
Contemplate all the Guiding Teachers,
Who are like the sands of the Ganges.
Neither destroyed nor coming or going,
Nor do they have an ultimate end.
This itself is equality:
Thus contemplate all the Tathagatas.
Like the sands of the Ganges,
They are entirely free from every fault.
Though flowing with the current, their nature remains constant;
Such is the Buddha’s perfect enlightenment.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
– Blessed One! I beseech you to teach this great assembly the characteristic of the momentary destruction of all dharmas. Blessed One! What is the MOMENTARY characteristic of all dharmas?
The Buddha told Mahamati:
Listen attentively and bear this well in mind; I shall explain it for you.
– Mahamati! What is called ALL DHARMAS comprises wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate dharmas; conditioned and unconditioned dharmas; worldly and supramundane dharmas; those involving transgression and those not involving transgression; those with outflows and those without outflows; those subject to reception and those not subject to reception, and so forth. Mahamati! Briefly stated, mind, manas, consciousness, and habitual tendencies are the causes of the five appropriated skandhas. They are also the habitual tendencies of mind, manas, and consciousness that nourish the wholesome and unwholesome false conceptions arising in ordinary beings.
– Mahamati! Those who cultivate samadhi, the right attainment of samadhi, and dwell happily in the present Dharma are called sages and worthies; this belongs to the wholesome Dharma without outflows. Mahamati! What are called WHOLESOME and UNWHOLESOME pertain to eight kinds of consciousness. What are the eight? They are the Tathagatagarbha, called the storehouse consciousness; mind, manas, mental consciousness; and the first five consciousnesses. They are not as taught by non-Buddhist schools.
– Mahamati! The first five consciousnesses, together with mind, manas, and mental consciousness, are all capable of discriminating sensory objects and their wholesome or unwholesome characteristics. Whenever the mind moves, dependent origination occurs; when conditions converge, mind arises, and successive transformations take place. When the first five consciousnesses transform in accordance with the sixth consciousness, there is discrimination between good and evil. When they transform in accordance with the seventh consciousness, there is the nature of attachment. When they transform in accordance with the eighth consciousness, there are seeds. The continuity of the first seven consciousnesses is subject to destruction, whereas the continuous flow of the eighth consciousness is not destroyed. Yet the substance of the eighth consciousness is not different from that of the other seven; therefore, when those seven consciousnesses arise and cease, the eighth consciousness must likewise arise or cease accordingly. Because beings do not know that sensory objects are manifestations of their own mind and have fundamentally never arisen or ceased, they perceive illusory realms and give rise to thoughts that grasp them. Thus, in succession, they cease and then arise, arise and then cease. The perception of differentiated forms is received by mental consciousness in conjunction with the first five consciousnesses. Arising from moment to moment without abiding, this is called KSHANA, a moment.
– Mahamati! What is called KSHANA is the storehouse consciousness within the Tathagatagarbha, arising together moment by moment with the habitual tendencies of mental consciousness. Habitual tendencies without outflows, however, are not momentary. This momentariness cannot be known by ordinary beings. Non-Buddhist schools cling to theories of momentariness; unaware that the momentariness of all dharmas is non-momentariness, they embrace the view of annihilation and thereby destroy the unconditioned Dharma. Mahamati! Since practitioners of the Two Vehicles have eliminated the obstruction of afflictions, the seventh consciousness no longer flows on, and they experience neither suffering nor pleasure; yet this is not the cause of nirvana. Mahamati! The Tathagatagarbha is said to experience matters of suffering and pleasure and, together with their causes, either to arise or cease. Non-Buddhist schools are intoxicated by the wine of the ignorance of the Four Abiding Grounds (1), while ordinary beings do not know that what they perceive as momentariness is due to false conceptions perfuming the mind.
(1) THE IGNORANCE OF THE FOUR ABIDING GROUNDS: craving for sensual desire, craving for form, craving for existence, and the ignorance of craving for views.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! Pure gold, diamond, and the Buddha's relics possess a special nature and can never be destroyed. Mahamati! Those who realize the noble wisdom of self-realization and attain the uninterrupted true Dharma have no characteristic of momentary arising and cessation. If there were momentariness, sages would not be sages; yet sages are always sages, just as the quality of pure gold and diamond does not diminish even after innumerable kalpas. Because ordinary beings do not skillfully understand my subtle and esoteric teaching of the Dharma, they conceive that all internal and external dharmas undergo momentary arising and cessation.
Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
– Blessed One! As the Blessed One has said, “When the Six Paramitas are perfected, complete enlightenment is attained.” What are the six?
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– The paramitas are divided into three kinds: worldly, supramundane, and transcending the supramundane. Mahamati! What are called the WORLDLY PARAMITAS involve attachment to self and what belongs to self, and the apprehension of the two extremes. They are practiced amid the various forms of rebirth. Craving forms, sounds, fragrances, flavors, and tactile objects, ordinary beings perfect the Paramita of Giving; likewise, they practice moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Through these, ordinary beings attain supernatural powers and are born in the Brahma heavens.
– Mahamati! What are called the SUPRAMUNDANE PARAMITAS are practiced by shravakas and pratyekabuddhas who fall into the apprehension of nirvana. Although they practice the Six Paramitas, they delight in abiding in the bliss of their own nirvana.
– What are called the PARAMITAS TRANSCENDING THE SUPRAMUNDANE arise from awakening to the fact that the false conceptions being apprehended are manifestations of one's own mind and from knowing that one's own mind is nondual. Thus, false conceptions do not arise, and there is no participation in the apprehensions of any class of beings. Without attachment to the forms manifested by one's own mind, yet adapting to conditions in order to teach and transform all beings so that they may attain peace and happiness—this is called the Paramita of Giving. Employing skillful means and observing the precepts in accordance with conditions, so that false conceptions do not arise, is the Paramita of Moral Discipline. When subjected to insult, not giving rise to false conceptions and knowing that both the apprehending and the apprehended are unreal is the Paramita of Patience. Diligently cultivating day and night, following skillful means so that false conceptions do not arise, is the Paramita of Diligence. Completely extinguishing false conceptions and not abiding in the nirvana of the shravakas is the Paramita of Meditation. Using wisdom to contemplate that the false conceptions of one's own mind are without intrinsic nature, not falling into views that cling to the two extremes, transforming this body into one more excellent than before without its continuity being severed, and attaining the noble wisdom of self-realization—this is the Prajnaparamita.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The nature of EMPTINESS is not momentary;
Ordinary beings falsely grasp it as such.
Like the current of a river, a lamp's flame,
And a seed putting forth a sprout,
They change with utmost rapidity,
All through the activity of the formations skandha.
The meaning of momentariness that I teach
Is quiescent and free from all fabrication.
In a moment, afflictions are extinguished;
All dharmas are unborn.
Where there is arising, there is cessation—
No fool teaches otherwise.
The continuity of their nature does not cease,
Because it is perfumed by false conceptions.
With ignorance as the cause,
The deluded mind arises from it.
Before forms and characteristics have arisen,
What is there to discriminate?
Seeing the continuity of arising and cessation,
The mind of attachment consequently arises.
If it does not abide in form,
Through what conditions could it arise?
If what arises is born from something else,
Then the cause of arising is unreal.
If unreal, it cannot be established;
How, then, could there be momentary destruction?
Those who cultivate right samadhi
Are like diamonds and relics.
Even worldly things such as these are indestructible;
How much more so the attainment of the true Dharma!
The Tathagata, replete with wisdom,
Is equal in this regard to the bhikshus.
How could momentariness still be perceived?
All realms are illusory transformations;
Forms and characteristics are not momentary.
Yet what is unreal in forms and characteristics
Is regarded as true reality.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:
– Blessed One! Why does the Blessed One bestow predictions that arhats will attain unsurpassed complete enlightenment and will be no different from the bodhisattvas? If the Buddha, in order to liberate all beings, does not enter nirvana, then who proceeds to Buddhahood? Why is it said, “From the time he first attained Buddhahood until he entered nirvana, during the interval he neither spoke a single word nor answered with a single word”? If it is said that “the Tathagata is always in samadhi,” then he engages in no thought, reflection, or contemplation. Thus, being without words or teaching, he could not instruct and transform beings; why, then, is it said that transformation Buddhas perform the work of a Buddha? Why is it said that the consciousnesses do not abide for even a moment, yet display the characteristic of successive transformation and destruction? If it is said that “the Tathagata is always in samadhi,” why must Vajrapani ever follow and guard him? Since the original limit is quiescent and extinct, one is far removed from afflictions; why, then, does the Tathagata still manifest various retributions of demonic and evil karma, such as the non-Buddhist Cinca Manavika pretending to be pregnant, Sundari's followers killing a young woman to slander the Buddha, and no one giving alms when he went begging so that he returned with an empty bowl, and so forth? Since the Tathagata has attained omniscience in all its aspects, why was he unable to avoid these faults?
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– Listen attentively and bear this well in mind; I shall explain it for you.
Bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:
– Excellent, Blessed One! I humbly await your instruction.
The Buddha told Mahamati:
– I teach nirvana without remainder in order to encourage ordinary beings to advance to the bodhisattva stage. I also exhort those who cultivate the bodhisattva practices in this realm and other realms, as well as those who delight in the nirvana of the śrāvaka vehicle, to leave the śrāvaka vehicle and advance to the Mahayana. Therefore, it is the Transformation Buddha who gives predictions of Buddhahood to śrāvakas, not the Dharma Buddha. Thus, the prediction given to śrāvakas is no different from that given to bodhisattvas. Mahamati! To say that they are “no different” means that the Two Vehicles and the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, have severed the afflictive hindrance and share the single flavor of liberation; it does not mean that they have severed the cognitive hindrance. Mahamati! The “cognitive hindrance” refers to realizing the exceptionally pure selflessness of dharmas; the “afflictive hindrance” is severed through the prior cultivation of insight into the selflessness of persons. That is to say: when the afflictive hindrance is severed, the seventh consciousness is transformed and extinguished, and the mental consciousness no longer operates. When the hindrance concerning dharmas is removed, the perfuming within the storehouse consciousness is transformed and extinguished, and ultimate purity is attained. Because dharmas abide in their original state, both before and after, they are devoid of inherent nature.
– Because his original vows are inexhaustible, the Tathagata teaches the Dharma without deliberation or examination. Teaching and transforming beings by means of right wisdom, his mindfulness is never mistaken; therefore, he is without deliberation or examination. When the habitual tendencies of the four abiding grounds and the abiding ground of ignorance are severed, the two kinds of affliction are ended, the two kinds of birth-and-death are transcended, the selflessness of persons and dharmas is realized, and the two hindrances are simultaneously severed.
– Mahamati! When one is free from the momentary causal habitual tendencies of the first seven consciousnesses, wholesome uncontaminated dharmas no longer lead to samsaric rebirth. Mahamati! Regarding the “Tathagatagarbha,” ordinary beings and non-Buddhists cling to emptiness. Through their attachment to emptiness, they disturb the mental consciousness. Although they attain the wisdom of emptiness, they do not understand that emptiness is non-knowing; where there is non-knowing, there is no wisdom, and they continue to revolve according to the causes of suffering and pleasure. If one realizes an emptiness that is not empty, this is the true momentary meaning of the Tathagatagarbha. Ordinary beings and non-Buddhists are unable to realize it and instead regard it as nirvana.
– Mahamati! The statement that VAJRA-WIELDING GUARDIANS CONSTANTLY FOLLOW AND PROTECT refers only to a Transformation Buddha, not to the True Tathagata. Mahamati! The “TRUE TATHAGATA” is beyond all measures of the faculties; that is, all measures of the faculties belonging to ordinary beings, the Two Vehicles, and non-Buddhists have been completely extinguished. He realizes the bliss of abiding in the present Dharma and the patience of uninterrupted Dharma-wisdom, and is not one who is protected by vajra-wielding guardians. No Transformation Buddha is born from karma. Although a Transformation Buddha is not the Buddha, neither is he separate from the Buddha. It is like a potter making various earthen vessels: the vessels are not clay, yet they are not separate from clay. Transformation Buddhas teach the Dharma according to the characteristics of beings’ activities; they do not teach from the standpoint of personal realization the realm of self-realization.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! Ordinary beings give rise to the view of annihilation on the basis of the transformation and cessation of the seventh consciousness, and they give rise to the view of permanence because they do not realize the storehouse consciousness. All of this arises because they do not know the original limit of their own mind’s false projections. When the false projections of their own mind cease, they attain liberation. With liberation, all the faults and habitual tendencies of the four abiding grounds and the abiding ground of ignorance are completely severed.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The Three Vehicles are themselves no vehicles;
The Tathagata does not enter cessation.
All predictions bestowed by the Buddhas
Transcend the faults of defilement and purity.
To encourage those of inferior faculties,
The concealed teaching is proclaimed.
To awaken uninterrupted wisdom,
Nirvana without remainder is taught.
The Buddhas provisionally establish wisdom
And teach distinctions according to capacities.
If all vehicles are not vehicles,
Then there is no nirvana.
Desire, form, existence, and attachment to views
Are called the four abiding grounds.
They arise through the mental consciousness;
Their seeds abide in the storehouse consciousness.
Faculties, objects, and the six consciousnesses—
Their cessation is described as impermanence.
Some perceive that nirvana exists,
And then regard it as permanently abiding.
At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati spoke these verses:
Those bodhisattvas
Resolve to seek the Buddha Way.
As for alcohol, meat, and the five pungent plants,
How should they eat and drink?
I beseech the Buddha, in his compassion,
To explain this to the great assembly.
Because ordinary beings are driven by craving,
They delight in eating foul and putrid things.
Their appetites are like those of tigers and wolves;
What foods, then, should they eat?
Which foods entail transgression?
I beseech you to tell me.
For those who eat or refrain from eating,
What offenses and merits are there?
After Bodhisattva Mahamati had spoken these verses, he again addressed the Buddha:
– I beseech the Blessed One to explain to us the merits and transgressions of those who eat meat and those who do not. In the present and the future, I and the other bodhisattvas will expound the Dharma discerningly to beings who delight in eating meat, causing them to turn toward a mind of loving-kindness. Once they have attained a mind of loving-kindness, they will purify and fully understand the abiding grounds of affliction and will swiftly attain ultimate, unsurpassed bodhi. Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, after resting in the stage of personal realization, will likewise be able to advance and swiftly attain unsurpassed bodhi. Even non-Buddhists, who formulate evil doctrines, cling to views of annihilation and permanence, and engage in inverted speculation, have prohibitory rules that forbid the eating of meat. How much more, then, should the Tathagata, who has perfected the true Dharma and protects the world, refrain from eating meat!
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
– Excellent, excellent! Listen attentively and remember well. I shall explain this for you.
Bodhisattva Mahamati said to the Buddha:
– I respectfully await your instruction.
The Buddha said to Mahamati:
– There are innumerable reasons why meat should not be eaten. I shall now explain them briefly for you. From beginningless time, all beings have successively become one another’s relatives among the six close relations according to causes and conditions. One should reflect that this flesh may have belonged to one’s own relative in a former life. Therefore, meat should not be eaten.
– The flesh of donkeys, mules, camels, foxes, dogs, oxen, horses, humans, beasts, and so forth is often mixed together and sold by butchers. Therefore, meat should not be eaten.
– When hunters, butchers, birds, and beasts smell the odor of meat-eaters, they immediately become afraid; dogs see them with hostility and bark loudly. Therefore, meat should not be eaten.
– Because eating meat prevents practitioners from giving rise to a mind of loving-kindness, meat should not be eaten. Ordinary beings who delight in foul and impure things acquire an evil reputation. Therefore, meat should not be eaten. Because eating meat prevents those who uphold mantras from attaining accomplishment, meat should not be eaten.
– Because those who kill living beings perceive the forms of animals, give rise to discriminating consciousness, and become attached to their flavors, meat should not be eaten. Those who eat meat are spurned by the devas. Therefore, meat should not be eaten. Because it makes the mouth foul-smelling, meat should not be eaten. Because it causes people to have many nightmares, meat should not be eaten.
– Because in deserted and secluded forests, tigers and wolves may detect the scent and create danger, meat should not be eaten. Because it causes eating and drinking to become immoderate, meat should not be eaten. Because it prevents practitioners from giving rise to disenchantment and renunciation, meat should not be eaten. I have often said: when about to eat or drink, one should think of the food as the flesh of one’s own child or regard it as poison. Therefore, meat should not be eaten. There is no justification for permitting disciples of the Buddha to eat meat.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! In ancient times there was a king named Siṃha Saudāsa. He ate all kinds of flesh and gradually came even to eat human flesh. The people could no longer endure it; they gathered together and plotted a revolt, and the king was consequently overthrown. Such are the faults of eating meat. Therefore, meat should not be eaten.
– Furthermore, Mahamati! Those who kill living beings do so out of greed for wealth and profit, slaughtering beings and trading in fish and meat. Foolish meat-eaters consume the flesh of living beings, using money as a net with which to capture various kinds of flesh. Those who kill and eat meat use either material goods, hooks, or nets to capture beings that fly in the sky, swim in the water, or walk upon the land. They kill them in all manner of ways and buy and sell them for profit. Planting causes and receiving their fruits, they will undergo evil retribution. Mahamati! I teach the disciples of the Buddha to sustain themselves with Dharma-food; I do not teach them to eat meat, nor even to desire or think about fish and meat. For this reason, meat should not be eaten.
– Mahamati! On some occasions, as an expedient means, I established restrictive rules permitting the eating of five kinds of pure meat (1), or even ten kinds. But now, in this sutra, I abolish all such expedient provisions. At all times and with regard to every kind, whatever is the flesh of sentient beings must be entirely renounced. Mahamati! The Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, does not even eat at improper times or partake of mixed foods; how much less would he eat fish or meat? He does not eat it himself, nor does he tell others to eat it. With great compassion foremost, he regards all sentient beings as his only child; therefore, he does not eat the flesh of his children.
(1) FIVE KINDS OF PURE MEAT: Meat from an animal that died naturally; one has not heard it being killed; one has not seen it being killed; it was not killed for oneself; and the remains of an animal eaten by birds or beasts.
At that time, the Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The flesh of every sentient being
Was once one's own kindred.
It may be foul-smelling and impure,
Having arisen and grown in filth.
Its very odor may inspire fear;
Alcohol, killing,
And the five pungent plants, and so forth—
Practitioners should keep far away from them.
Alcohol and meat give rise to heedlessness;
Heedlessness gives rise to infatuation.
Infatuation gives rise to sensual desire;
Therefore, they should not be consumed.
Eating meat gives rise to sensual desire;
Sensual desire deludes the mind.
Delusion nourishes craving and desire,
And one is not liberated from birth and death.
For profit, beings are killed;
With wealth, fish and meat are procured.
These two create evil karma;
After death, one falls into the Howling Hell.
I have always taught the Buddha's disciples
To sustain themselves on foods permitted by the Dharma.
I have never taught them to eat sentient beings,
Nor does flesh arise without a cause.
Eating meat creates enmity and resentment;
Therefore, it should not be eaten.
Killing and eating sentient beings—
Practitioners should keep far away from these.
All the Tathagatas of the ten directions
Reproach such conduct.
Those who believe in cause and effect
Should not devour one another.
After death, they fall among tigers and wolves;
When reborn, they are always ignorant.
Butchers and hunters
Cause birds and beasts to tremble in fear.
They will certainly suffer evil consequences.
Those whose nature craves meat
Must fall into the animal realm,
Like cats and mongooses.
In the Mahayana sutras,
Such as the Elephant-Binding Sutra and the Great Cloud Sutra,
As well as the Nirvana Sutra
And this Lankavatara Sutra,
I exhort all practitioners
To renounce the eating of meat.
Bodhisattvas and shravakas—
All Buddhas reproach it.
Those who kill and eat flesh,
And eat meat without shame,
Remain ignorant life after life.
Previously, I spoke of meat not seen, heard, or suspected;
Now all meat has been prohibited,
Yet those lost in deluded thinking do not understand.
Because of their fault of craving and desire,
They are reborn among flesh-eating creatures,
And liberation is obstructed.
Alcohol, meat, and the five pungent plants
All obstruct the noble path.
Sentient beings in future ages
Will eat meat only through ignorance.
Some may cling to the view
That eating pure meat is blameless
Because the Buddha permitted it.
But they forget the Buddha's words
Recorded in many scriptures,
Where it is said:
Eating meat is like eating one's own child
And is also like drinking poison.
Thus practitioners are led to revulsion and renunciation.
Those who always follow the practice of alms-begging
And abide in a mind of loving-kindness
Can roam together even with
Fierce beasts such as tigers and wolves.
But if they eat creatures of blood and flesh,
All sentient beings will be terrified.
Therefore, practitioners
With loving-kindness do not eat meat.
Eating meat destroys wisdom
And utterly opposes true liberation.
It contradicts the bearing of the noble ones;
Therefore, it should not be eaten.
"Birth into a brahmin lineage,
Admission to places of spiritual cultivation,
And a household rich, honored, and endowed with wisdom—
All arise from abstaining from meat."
These are words I have always taught.
END OF THE LANKAVATARA SUTRA
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