大般若波羅蜜多經

II. CHAPTER ON LEARNING CONTEMPLATION

01

At that time, the Blessed One knew that those throughout the worlds—devas, maras, and brahmas; shramanas and brahmins; gandharvas, asuras, nagas, and other spirits; assemblies of great bodhisattvas in their final existence who were destined to succeed to the state of Buddhahood; and, moreover, all humans and nonhumans having affinities with the Dharma—had all assembled. He then addressed the Venerable Shariputra: “If great bodhisattvas wish to attain the ultimate awakening to all aspects of all dharmas, they should train in prajnaparamita.”

When Shariputra heard the Buddha speak thus, he rose from his seat, joyful and elated, approached the Buddha, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, bared his left shoulder, knelt with his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms respectfully, and addressed the Buddha: “Blessed One! How should great bodhisattvas who wish to attain the ultimate awakening to all aspects of all dharmas train in prajnaparamita?”

The Buddha said to the Venerable Shariputra: “Shariputra! Great bodhisattvas should employ nonabiding as skillful means and abide in prajnaparamita, because neither that in which one abides nor the one who abides can be apprehended.

“Great bodhisattvas should employ nonrelinquishment as skillful means to perfect the paramita of generosity, because the giver, the recipient, and the gift cannot be apprehended.

“Great bodhisattvas should employ nonguarding as skillful means to perfect the paramita of pure ethical discipline, because the characteristics of transgression and nontransgression cannot be apprehended.

“Great bodhisattvas should employ nonappropriation as skillful means to perfect the paramita of patient acceptance, because the characteristics of being disturbed and undisturbed cannot be apprehended.

“Great bodhisattvas should employ nonexertion as skillful means to perfect the paramita of diligence, because bodily and mental diligence and indolence cannot be apprehended.

“Great bodhisattvas should employ nonconceptualization as skillful means to perfect the paramita of meditative concentration, because the presence and absence of attachment to the flavor of meditation cannot be apprehended.

“Great bodhisattvas should employ nonattachment as skillful means to perfect prajnaparamita, because the nature and characteristics of all dharmas cannot be apprehended.

“Furthermore, Shariputra! Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of supernormal power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, and the eightfold noble path, because the thirty-seven factors conducive to awakening cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the gateways of liberation through emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, because these three gateways of liberation cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the four meditative absorptions, the four immeasurables, and the four formless attainments, because the meditative absorptions, immeasurables, and formless attainments cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive attainments, and the ten spheres of totality, because the liberations, spheres of mastery, and so forth, up to and including the spheres of totality, cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the nine perceptions: the perception of a bloated corpse, the perception of a festering corpse, the perception of a bloodied corpse, the perception of a blue-black corpse, the perception of a corpse devoured by birds, the perception of a dismembered corpse, the perception of a skeleton, the perception of a burned corpse, and the perception that nothing in the entire world can be preserved, because these perceptions cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the ten recollections: recollection of the Buddha, recollection of the Dharma, recollection of the Sangha, recollection of ethical discipline, recollection of relinquishment, recollection of devas, mindfulness of inhalation and exhalation, recollection of revulsion, recollection of death, and mindfulness of the body, because these recollections cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the ten contemplative perceptions: the perception of impermanence, the perception of suffering, the perception of nonself, the perception of impurity, the perception of death, the perception that nothing in the entire world is delightful, the perception of disgust toward food and drink, the perception of abandonment, the perception of dispassion, and the perception of cessation, because these contemplative perceptions cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas perfect the eleven knowledges: knowledge of suffering, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of cessation, knowledge of the path, knowledge of the destruction of the afflictions, knowledge of nonarising, knowledge of dharmas, knowledge that classifies dharmas, worldly knowledge, knowledge of the minds of others, and knowledge that accords with the Buddha’s teaching, because these knowledges cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect concentration accompanied by both initial and sustained application of thought, concentration without initial but with sustained application of thought, and concentration without either initial or sustained application of thought, because these three domains of concentration cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect the faculty of understanding what has not yet been understood, the faculty of complete understanding, and the faculty of knowing that understanding is complete, because these cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect contemplation of impurity, contemplation of infinite space, knowledge surpassing all knowledge, concentration, and wisdom, because these five cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect the four means of attraction, the four supreme abodes, the three kinds of clear knowledge, the five eyes, the six superknowledges, and the six paramitas, because these six categories cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect the seven qualities conducive to Buddhahood, the eight awakenings of a great being, the nine kinds of knowledge concerning the nine classes of sentient beings, the dharani gateways, and the samadhi gateways, because these five categories cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect the ten stages of cultivation, the ten practices, the ten kinds of patient acceptance, and the twenty joys arising from progress in cultivation, because these four categories cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect the ten powers of the Tathagata, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed understandings, the eighteen qualities exclusive to a Buddha, the thirty-two marks of a great being, and the eighty minor characteristics, because these six categories cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect the Dharma of never losing mindfulness, the nature of constant equanimity, the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, the knowledge of all aspects, and the knowledge of all the subtleties of characteristics, because these six dharmas cannot be apprehended.

“Abiding in prajnaparamita and employing nonattainment as skillful means, great bodhisattvas should perfect great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, and immeasurably and boundlessly many other Buddha-dharmas, because these dharmas cannot be apprehended.

“Furthermore, Shariputra! Great bodhisattvas who wish swiftly to realize the knowledge surpassing all knowledge should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish swiftly to perfect the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and the knowledge of all aspects, they should train in prajnaparamita.”

If a great bodhisattva wishes swiftly to perfect the knowledge of the characteristics of the mental activities of all sentient beings and the knowledge of the subtle distinctions among characteristics, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to uproot the afflictions and habitual tendencies accumulated over many lifetimes, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to abandon the afflictions and enter the nirvana of a bodhisattva, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to transcend the stages of the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to abide at the irreversible stage of a bodhisattva, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes swiftly to attain the six superknowledges, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to know the differences in the mental activities and destinations of all sentient beings, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to surpass all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas in the functioning of wisdom, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to attain all dharani gateways and samadhi gateways, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through a single thought of sympathetic joy, to surpass the material generosity of shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through a single thought of sympathetic joy, to surpass the pure morality observed by all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through a single thought of sympathetic joy, to surpass the concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation of all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through a single thought of sympathetic joy, to surpass the meditative absorptions, liberations, spheres of concentration, and other wholesome qualities of all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through a single thought associated with the wholesome Dharma he cultivates, to surpass the wholesome qualities of all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to practice even a small measure of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom for sentient beings, and skillfully dedicate it toward unsurpassed enlightenment so as to obtain immeasurable and boundless merit, he should train in prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, Shariputra! If a great bodhisattva wishes to free the practice of the six paramitas—generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom—from all obstacles and swiftly bring it to fulfillment, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes in lifetime after lifetime always to encounter the Buddhas, continually hear the true Dharma, attain awakening like a Buddha, and, through the Buddhas, recollect the instructions and transmissions he has received, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes fully to possess the thirty-two marks of a great person and the eighty accompanying excellent characteristics that perfectly adorn the body of a Buddha, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes in lifetime after lifetime always to recollect his former lives, never forget the mind of great bodhi, remain far from unwholesome friends, draw near to spiritual friends, and constantly cultivate the practices of a great bodhisattva, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes in lifetime after lifetime to possess great majestic power, drive away hostile maras, and subdue adherents of non-Buddhist paths, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes in lifetime after lifetime forever to remain free from all afflictive and karmic obstructions, comprehend all dharmas, and have a mind without impediment, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes in lifetime after lifetime to sustain an uninterrupted succession of wholesome thoughts, wholesome aspirations, and wholesome deeds, without indolence or abandonment, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to be born into a family that has faith in the Buddha, enter the stage of the pure youth, and never be separated from the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes in lifetime after lifetime fully to possess the fine and dignified marks of a Buddha, so that all sentient beings who behold him rejoice, arouse the aspiration for unsurpassed enlightenment, and swiftly perfect the merits of the Buddhas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through the power of supreme roots of virtue, always and freely to present the finest offerings, reverently make offerings to, honor, and praise all Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, and thereby swiftly bring his roots of virtue to perfection, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to satisfy all the needs of sentient beings—food and drink, clothing, beds and bedding, medicines for treating illness, flowers, incense, lamps, vehicles, gardens and groves, houses, wealth, grain, precious gems, precious ornaments, music, and other fine musical instruments—he should train in prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, Shariputra! If a great bodhisattva wishes skillfully to establish all sentient beings throughout the realm of space, the Dharma realm, and the realm of beings, causing them all to abide in the paramitas of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes that merely by arousing a single wholesome thought he may acquire such great merit that it will not be exhausted even when he sits upon the noble seat of enlightenment and attains unsurpassed enlightenment, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to be praised in unison by all Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, and by the assemblies of great bodhisattvas throughout the Buddha realms of the ten directions, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, upon arousing a single thought, to be able to pervade innumerable worlds throughout the ten directions in order to make offerings to the Buddhas and benefit sentient beings, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, upon uttering a single sound, to be able to pervade innumerable worlds throughout the ten directions in order to praise the Buddhas and teach and transform sentient beings, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, within a single thought-moment, to establish all sentient beings throughout innumerable Buddha realms in the ten directions, causing them all to train in the path of the ten wholesome actions, take the Three Refuges, and observe the precepts, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, within a single thought-moment, to establish all sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the Buddhas in the ten directions, causing them all to train in the four meditative absorptions, the four immeasurable states of mind, and the four formless concentrations, and to attain the five superknowledges, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, within a single thought-moment, to establish all sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the Buddhas in the ten directions, causing them to abide in the Great Vehicle, cultivate the bodhisattva practices, and refrain from disparaging the other vehicles, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to perpetuate the lineage of the Buddhas so that it is never severed, preserve the lineage of the bodhisattvas so that they do not regress, and adorn and purify Buddha realms so that they are swiftly perfected, he should train in prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, Shariputra! If a great bodhisattva wishes to comprehend internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal-and-external emptiness, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of ultimate truth, the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, boundless emptiness, vast emptiness, the emptiness of the unchanging, the emptiness of essential nature, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, the emptiness of common characteristics, the emptiness of all dharmas, the emptiness of the unobtainable, the emptiness of nonexistence, the emptiness of self-nature, and the emptiness of the self-nature of nonexistence, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to comprehend all dharmas, the true suchness of the dharmadhatu, the nature of dharmas, the nature free from falsity, the unchanging nature, the nature of equality, the nature free from arising, the fixed nature of dharmas, the abiding nature of dharmas, ultimate reality, the realm of space, and the inconceivable realm, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to comprehend the nature of all that exists and the nature of things as they truly are with respect to all dharmas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to comprehend the nature of the causal condition, the immediately antecedent condition, the objective condition, and the dominant condition of all dharmas, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to comprehend that all dharmas are like illusions, dreams, echoes, images, shadows, mirages, flowers in the sky, illusory cities, and magical displays; that they are manifested by mind alone; and that their nature and characteristics are all empty, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to know the vast earth beneath space, the mountains, great seas, rivers, ponds, lakes, ravines, springs, pools, earth, water, wind, fire, and even the most minute things within the three-thousand great-thousand world, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to split a single hair into one hundred parts, then take one part of that hair and transfer all the water from the great seas, rivers, ponds, lakes, ravines, springs, and pools of the three-thousand great-thousand world into boundless worlds in other directions, without harming any beings living in the water, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva sees a conflagration consuming all heaven and earth throughout the three-thousand great-thousand world and wishes to extinguish it at once with a single breath, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva sees the wind sphere in the three-thousand great-thousand world suddenly surging forth, about to blow Mount Sumeru, Great Mount Sumeru, the Cakravada Mountains, the Great Cakravada Mountains, the other lesser mountains, and all things upon the vast earth of the three-thousand great-thousand world into fragments like bran, and wishes to restrain the force of that wind with one finger, causing it immediately to cease and not arise again, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, by sitting cross-legged just once, to fill all the space throughout the three-thousand great-thousand world, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to bind Mount Sumeru, Great Mount Sumeru, the Cakravada Mountains, the Great Cakravada Mountains, the other lesser mountains, and all things upon the vast earth within the three-thousand great-thousand world with a single hair and cast them beyond immeasurable, innumerable, boundless worlds in other directions, without harming any sentient beings, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, with one portion of food, one flower, one stick of incense, one garland, one parasol, one banner, one canopy, one lamp, one robe, one piece of fine music, and so forth, to fully make reverential offerings to, honor, and praise all Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, and their assemblies of disciples throughout innumerable worlds in the ten directions, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to establish all sentient beings throughout innumerable worlds in the ten directions in well-being, causing them to abide in the aggregate of morality, the aggregate of concentration, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of liberation, or the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation; or to abide in the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning, the fruit of arhatship, or the attainment of a pratyekabuddha; or even to enter the realm of nirvana without remainder, he should train in prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, Sariputra! If a great bodhisattva practices prajnaparamita, he is able to know things as they truly are: Giving in such a manner brings a great karmic result—this is called knowing things as they truly are. Giving in such a manner brings rebirth into a great ksatriya family; giving in such a manner brings rebirth into a great brahmin family; giving in such a manner brings rebirth into a great family of household elders; giving in such a manner brings rebirth into a great householder family; giving in such a manner brings rebirth among the gods in the realm of the Four Great Kings, or among the gods of the Thirty-Three, the Yama gods, the Tusita gods, the gods who Delight in Creation, or the gods who Exercise Mastery over the Creations of Others.

Through such giving, one attains the first dhyana, the second dhyana, the third dhyana, or the fourth dhyana. Through such giving, one attains the concentration of the Sphere of Infinite Space, the concentration of the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, the concentration of the Sphere of Nothingness, or the concentration of the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception. Through such giving, one attains the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment.

Through such giving, one attains the three gates of liberation. Through such giving, one attains the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive meditative attainments, or the ten totalities. Through such giving, one attains the dharani gateways and the samadhi gateways.

Through such giving, one becomes free from afflictions and enters the nirvana of a bodhisattva. Through such giving, one attains the Ground of Great Joy, the Ground of Stainlessness, the Ground of Luminousness, the Ground of Blazing Wisdom, the Ground Difficult to Conquer, the Ground of Manifest Presence, the Far-Going Ground, the Immovable Ground, the Ground of Excellent Wisdom, or the Dharma Cloud Ground. Through such giving, one attains the five eyes of a Buddha or the six superknowledges.

Through such giving, one attains the ten powers of a Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, the eighteen distinctive qualities of a Buddha, or great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, and great equanimity. Through such giving, one attains the thirty-two marks of a great person or the eighty accompanying excellent characteristics. Through such giving, one attains the Dharma of never forgetting or constantly abides in the nature of equanimity.

Through such giving, one attains the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the paths, or the knowledge of all aspects. Through such giving, one attains the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning, the fruit of arhatship, the enlightenment of a pratyekabuddha, or the attainment of supreme enlightenment. In the same way, he is also able to know things as they truly are: Pure morality, patient acceptance, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom bring great karmic results.

Furthermore, Sariputra! If a great bodhisattva practices prajnaparamita, he is able to know things as they truly are: By skillfully employing such means in giving, he can completely fulfill the paramita of giving; by skillfully employing such means in giving, he can completely fulfill the paramita of pure morality; by skillfully employing such means in giving, he can completely fulfill the paramita of patient acceptance; by skillfully employing such means in giving, he can completely fulfill the paramita of diligence; by skillfully employing such means in giving, he can completely fulfill the paramita of meditative concentration; by skillfully employing such means in giving, he can completely fulfill prajnaparamita.

He is able to know things as they truly are: By skillfully employing such means in observing pure morality, he can completely fulfill the paramita of pure morality; by skillfully employing such means in observing pure morality, he can completely fulfill the paramita of patient acceptance; by skillfully employing such means in observing pure morality, he can completely fulfill the paramita of diligence; by skillfully employing such means in observing pure morality, he can completely fulfill the paramita of meditative concentration; by skillfully employing such means in observing pure morality, he can completely fulfill prajnaparamita; by skillfully employing such means in observing pure morality, he can completely fulfill the paramita of giving.

They are able to know in accordance with reality: By skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of patient endurance; by skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of diligence; by skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration; by skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect prajnaparamita; by skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of generosity; by skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of pure morality.

They are able to know in accordance with reality: By skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of diligence; by skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration; by skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect prajnaparamita; by skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of generosity; by skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of pure morality; by skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of patient endurance.

They are able to know in accordance with reality: By skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration; by skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect prajnaparamita; by skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of generosity; by skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of pure morality; by skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of patient endurance; by skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of diligence.

They are able to know in accordance with reality: By skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect prajnaparamita; by skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of generosity; by skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of pure morality; by skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of patient endurance; by skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of diligence; by skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration.

At that time, Sariputra addressed the Buddha: “Blessed One! How do great bodhisattvas who cultivate prajnaparamita know in accordance with reality generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditative concentration, and prajna as such, and, through skillful means, fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditative concentration, and prajna?”

The Buddha told the Venerable Sariputra: “Great bodhisattvas who cultivate prajnaparamita are able to know in accordance with reality: If great bodhisattvas, taking non-apprehension as their skillful means, cultivate the prajnaparamita of generosity, they fully comprehend that all givers, recipients, and gifts are ungraspable. By skillfully employing such means of generosity, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditative concentration, and prajna.

“If great bodhisattvas, taking non-apprehension as their skillful means, cultivate the prajnaparamita of pure morality, they fully comprehend that all characteristics of transgression and non-transgression are ungraspable. By skillfully employing such means of maintaining pure morality, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditative concentration, prajna, and generosity.

“If great bodhisattvas, taking non-apprehension as their skillful means, cultivate the prajnaparamita of patient endurance, they fully comprehend that all characteristics of agitation and non-agitation are ungraspable. By skillfully employing such means of patient endurance, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of patient endurance, diligence, meditative concentration, prajna, generosity, and pure morality.

“If great bodhisattvas, taking non-apprehension as their skillful means, cultivate the prajnaparamita of diligence, they fully comprehend that all diligence and indolence of body and mind are ungraspable. By skillfully employing such means of diligence, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of diligence, meditative concentration, prajna, generosity, pure morality, and patient endurance.

“If great bodhisattvas, taking non-apprehension as their skillful means, cultivate the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration, they fully comprehend that all states possessing the savor of meditation and lacking the savor of meditation are ungraspable. By skillfully employing such means of meditative concentration, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of meditative concentration, prajna, generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, and diligence.

“If great bodhisattvas, taking non-apprehension as their skillful means, cultivate prajnaparamita, they fully comprehend that the nature and characteristics of all dharmas are ungraspable. By skillfully employing such means of prajna, they can fully perfect the prajnaparamitas of prajna, generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, and meditative concentration.

“Furthermore, Sariputra! If great bodhisattvas wish to acquire the merit of all Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, present, and future, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to reach the far shore of enlightenment concerning all conditioned and unconditioned dharmas, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to reach the ultimate reality of suchness, the dharma-dhatu, the Dharma-nature, and non-arising of all dharmas of the past, present, and future, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to serve as guides for all sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to serve as close attendants of the Buddhas, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to become kinsfolk of the Buddhas, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to have abundant kinsfolk in life after life, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish always to be kinsfolk of bodhisattvas, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish their bodies to become pure and thus be worthy of the world’s reverence and offerings, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to dispel and subdue all thoughts of stinginess and greed, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish never again to give rise to thoughts of transgressing the precepts, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to eliminate all thoughts of anger forever, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to abandon all thoughts of indolence forever, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to still and extinguish all distracted thoughts forever, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to remain forever free from all thoughts of cunning and malice, they should train in prajnaparamita.

“If great bodhisattvas wish to establish all sentient beings in meritorious deeds consisting of generosity, meritorious deeds consisting of observing the precepts, meritorious deeds consisting of cultivation, meritorious deeds consisting of making offerings and rendering service, and meritorious deeds consisting of taking refuge, they should train in prajnaparamita.”

If a great bodhisattva wishes to attain the five kinds of eyes—namely, the physical eye, the divine eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, and the Buddha eye—he should train in prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, Sariputra! If a great bodhisattva wishes, with the divine eye, to behold universally all the Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly and Completely Awakened Ones throughout the innumerable Buddha-worlds of the ten directions, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, with the divine ear, to hear all the Dharma teachings spoken by all the Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly and Completely Awakened Ones throughout the innumerable Buddha-worlds of the ten directions, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to know, in accordance with reality, all the minds and mental factors of all the Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly and Completely Awakened Ones throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to hear the true Dharma in the Buddha-realms throughout the innumerable Buddha-worlds of the ten directions, never growing indolent or abandoning it, practicing in accordance with the Dharma heard, and never forgetting it until attaining unsurpassed awakening, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to behold the Buddha-realms of the past, present, and future throughout the worlds of the ten directions, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to enable sravakas, whether they have heard the teachings or not, to penetrate the profound meaning of all the Sutras, Geyas, Vyakarana prophecies, Gathas, Udanas, Nidanas, Itivrttakas, Jatakas, Vaipulya teachings, Adbhuta-dharmas, Avadanas, and Upadesas spoken by the Buddhas of the ten directions in the past, present, and future, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes personally to accept and uphold, read and recite, thoroughly comprehend, and fully understand the meaning of the Dharma gateways taught by the Buddhas of the ten directions in the past, present, and future, and to propagate them for others, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes personally to practice in exact accordance with the Buddha’s teachings and to exhort others to practice in exact accordance with the Buddha’s teachings among the Dharma gateways taught by the Buddhas of the ten directions in the past, present, and future, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to become a light illuminating the innumerable realms of darkness throughout the ten directions and all the worlds that the light of the sun and moon cannot reach, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If, throughout the innumerable dark and benighted worlds of the ten directions, there are sentient beings whose wrong views are deeply entrenched, who do not believe in evil actions or wholesome actions; who do not believe in the results of evil or wholesome actions; who do not believe in former lives or future lives; who do not believe in the truth of suffering, the truth of its origin, the truth of its cessation, or the truth of the path; who do not believe that the practices of giving, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditation, wisdom, and so forth bring worldly and supramundane fruits;

and who have never heard the names of the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Sangha—if a bodhisattva wishes skillfully to teach and transform them, causing them to give rise to right view, hear the names of the Three Jewels, joyfully believe and follow, abandon all evil, and cultivate all that is wholesome, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through his own spiritual power, to enable sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions—the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, the insane to regain sanity, the distracted to become composed, the poor to become wealthy, those without clothing to obtain clothing, the hungry to obtain food, the thirsty to obtain drink, the sick to be healed, the ugly to become beautiful, the disabled to become whole, those deficient in their faculties to have them complete, the sorrowful to awaken from sorrow, and the weary to regain their strength—he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through his own spiritual power, to cause sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions to treat one another lovingly, as fathers and mothers, as elder and younger brothers, as elder and younger sisters, as friends, and as relatives; never opposing or harming one another, but bringing one another benefit and happiness, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through his own spiritual power, to cause sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions who dwell in evil states all to escape those evil states and be born in fortunate states, and those who dwell in fortunate states always to remain there without falling into evil states, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through his own spiritual power, to cause sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions who are accustomed to committing evil to cultivate goodness without discouragement or weariness, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through his own spiritual power, to cause sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions—those who violate the precepts all to abide in the aggregate of morality; those who are distracted all to abide in the aggregate of concentration; those who are deluded all to abide in the aggregate of wisdom; those who have not attained liberation all to abide in the aggregate of liberation; and those who have not attained the knowledge and vision of liberation all to abide in the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation—he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes, through his own supernormal power, to cause sentient beings throughout the innumerable worlds of the ten directions who have not yet seen the truth to see the truth and abide in the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, or the fruit of non-returning; to attain arhatship; to attain the awakening of a pratyekabuddha; or even to attain unsurpassed awakening, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva wishes to learn the sublime deportment of the Buddhas, so that sentient beings never tire of beholding him, abandon all evil, and engender every wholesome quality, he should train in prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, Sariputra! If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “Whenever I teach the Dharma to sentient beings, may my dignified bearing always be solemn and majestic, like the gaze of the king of elephants,” and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “May my bodily, verbal, and mental karma always be purified, and may I act in accordance with wisdom,” and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “May my feet never touch the ground, but remain about four finger-widths above it as I move freely,” and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I receive the reverent offerings, honor, and praise of immeasurable hundreds of thousands of countless devas from the realms of the Four Great Kings, the Thirty-Three, Yama, Tusita, Delight in Transformation, Mastery over Others’ Transformations, the Brahma Hosts, Brahma’s Ministers, Brahma’s Assembly, Great Brahma, Radiance, Limited Radiance, Immeasurable Radiance, Utmost Purity of Radiance, Purity, Limited Purity, Immeasurable Purity, Universal Purity, Vastness, Limited Vastness, Immeasurable Vastness, Abundant Fruit, No Affliction, No Heat, Excellent Manifestation, Excellent Vision, and the Ultimate Form Realm, together with the naga spirits,

and be escorted and surrounded by their retinues as I proceed toward the Bodhi tree?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall immeasurable hundreds of thousands of countless devas from the realm of the Four Great Kings up to the Ultimate Form Realm, together with the naga spirits, spread precious robes beneath the Bodhi tree to make a seat for me?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I sit cross-legged beneath the Bodhi tree, strike the earth with my hand adorned with the auspicious marks, and cause the earth deity dwelling there, together with his retinue, to appear suddenly and simultaneously bear witness?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I sit beneath the Bodhi tree, subdue the hosts of Mara, and attain supreme enlightenment?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment and thereafter, wherever I may be, whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, possess complete mastery and freedom?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall the day come when I relinquish my royal throne and leave the household life, attain supreme enlightenment that very day, and on that same day turn the wondrous wheel of Dharma, thereby immediately causing immeasurable and innumerable sentient beings to become forever free from dust and defilement and to give rise to the pure Dharma-eye; further causing immeasurable and innumerable sentient beings to eradicate all outflows forever and attain liberation of mind and wisdom; and also causing immeasurable and innumerable sentient beings to become irreversible in their progress toward supreme enlightenment?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment and have immeasurable and innumerable shravakas and bodhisattvas as my assembly of disciples, so that through a single teaching of the Dharma, immeasurable and innumerable sentient beings, without rising from their seats, simultaneously attain arhatship, while immeasurable and innumerable sentient beings, without rising from their seats, all become irreversible in their progress toward supreme enlightenment?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall my lifespan be endless and my body possess immeasurable and boundless radiance, adorned with the auspicious marks, so that those who behold it never tire of looking upon it? When I walk, although a thousand lotus blossoms naturally rise to support my steps, a thousand wheel-marks will nevertheless appear upon the ground; when I take a step, the great earth will quake, yet none of the sentient beings dwelling upon it will be disturbed; when I wish to turn back, my entire body will turn; and wherever my feet tread, the grass will bend down as though a wheel had passed over it, and the earth itself will turn accordingly.”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall every part of my entire body emit immeasurable and innumerable rays of light, illuminating boundless worlds throughout the ten directions and bringing great benefit to sentient beings wherever that light reaches?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment, so that in my Buddha-land there will be no words at all for craving, hatred, delusion, and the like, nor will there even be heard of evil destinies such as the hells, the animal realm, or the realm of ghosts?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment, so that in my Buddha-land all sentient beings will be endowed with wisdom, as in other Buddha-lands, and every sentient being will give rise to this thought: ‘How excellent are generosity, self-discipline, patient forbearance, courageous diligence, serenity, contemplation of truth, the abandonment of heedlessness, diligent cultivation of the pure life, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity toward sentient beings, and refraining from causing one another suffering!’”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment, so that the sentient beings in my Buddha-land will accomplish all kinds of excellent qualities and will also be praised by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas in other Buddha-lands?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment, complete the work of guiding beings, and then, after entering nirvana, cause the True Dharma never to pass into extinction but always to bring benefit to sentient beings?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

If a great bodhisattva gives rise to this thought: “When shall I attain supreme enlightenment, so that any sentient being in the innumerable worlds throughout the ten directions who hears my name will assuredly attain supreme enlightenment?”—and if that great bodhisattva wishes to accomplish this, he should train in prajnaparamita.

Shariputra! Great bodhisattvas who wish to acquire these immeasurable, innumerable, and inconceivable qualities should train in prajnaparamita.

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