大般若波羅蜜多經

33

O Kausika! If good men, good women, and others were to teach and guide all kinds of sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, causing them all to abide in the fruit of a pratyekabuddha, the merit thereby gained would not equal that of one who teaches and guides a single sentient being, causing that being to aspire toward unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Why is this?

Kausika! Because one who teaches and guides a sentient being, causing that being to aspire toward unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, thereby ensures that the Buddha-eye in the world will not be cut off. Why is this?

Because, owing to the presence of great bodhisattvas, there are the fruits of stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, arhat, and pratyekabuddha; because, owing to the presence of great bodhisattvas, there are Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones who attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment; and because, owing to the presence of great bodhisattvas, there are the treasures of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, to which all the worlds take refuge and make offerings.

Therefore, Kausika, all the worlds—whether devas, maras, Brahmas, sramanas, brahmins, asuras, humans, nonhumans, and others—should reverently make offerings to, honor, and praise great bodhisattvas with immeasurable garlands of exquisite flowers, scented ointments, powdered incense, and the like; with garments, necklaces, banners, canopies adorned with jewels, all kinds of precious gems, music, bright lamps, and everything they possess.

O Kausika! Therefore, you should know that if good men, good women, and others copy out this profound prajnaparamita and present it to others to read and recite, or successively copy and circulate it so that it is widely disseminated, the merit thereby gained surpasses the previously described merit immeasurably and boundlessly. Why is this?

Because all the excellent wholesome dharmas, worldly and supramundane, are extensively taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita. Because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the great lineages of kshatriyas, the great lineages of brahmins, the great lineages of elders, and the great lineages of householders; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the devas of the Four Great Kings, the Thirty-Three Devas, the Yama Devas, the Tushita Devas, the Devas Who Delight in Transformation, and the Devas Who Exercise Mastery over the Transformations of Others;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the Devas of Brahma's Assembly, the Ministers of Brahma, the Retinue of Brahma, and Great Brahma; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the Devas of Light, the Devas of Limited Light, the Devas of Immeasurable Light, and the Devas of Ultimate Radiant Purity; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the Devas of Purity, the Devas of Limited Purity, the Devas of Immeasurable Purity, and the Devas of Pervasive Purity;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the Devas of Vastness, the Devas of Limited Vastness, the Devas of Immeasurable Vastness, and the Devas of Abundant Fruit; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the Devas Free from Affliction, the Devas Free from Heat, the Devas of Excellent Manifestation, the Devas of Excellent Vision, and the Akanishtha Devas; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the devas of the sphere of infinite space, the devas of the sphere of infinite consciousness, the devas of the sphere of nothingness, and the devas of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the paramita of generosity, the paramita of pure morality, the paramita of patient acceptance, the paramita of diligence, the paramita of meditative concentration, and the prajnaparamita;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the emptiness of the internal, the emptiness of the external, the emptiness of the internal and external, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of ultimate meaning, the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, the emptiness of the boundless, the emptiness of dispersion, the emptiness of the immutable, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, the emptiness of individual characteristics, the emptiness of common characteristics, the emptiness of all dharmas, the emptiness of the unapprehensible, the emptiness of nonexistence, the emptiness of self-nature, and the emptiness of the self-nature of nonexistence;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world suchness, the dharma-dhatu, dharma-nature, the nature free from falsity, the immutable nature, the nature of equality, the nature beyond arising, the fixed order of Dharma, the abiding order of Dharma, the limit of reality, the realm of space, and the inconceivable realm; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the Noble Truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering, and the Noble Truth of the path;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the four meditative absorptions, the four immeasurables, and the four formless attainments; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive attainments, and the ten spheres of totality; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of spiritual power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold noble path;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the liberation gateway of emptiness, the liberation gateway of signlessness, and the liberation gateway of wishlessness; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the five kinds of eyes and the six superknowledges; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the ten powers of a Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen distinctive qualities of a Buddha;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the quality of never losing mindfulness and the nature of constant equanimity; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the paths, and the knowledge of all aspects; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world all dharani gateways and all samadhi gateways;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats, as well as those proceeding toward stream-entry and the fruit of stream-entry, those proceeding toward once-returning and the fruit of once-returning, those proceeding toward non-returning and the fruit of non-returning, and those proceeding toward arhatship and the fruit of arhatship; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world pratyekabuddhas and the fruit of a pratyekabuddha; because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world all great bodhisattvas and the practices of great bodhisattvas;

because of the Dharma taught within this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there arise in the world all Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, and the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas.

Moreover, Kauśika! Apart from the various kinds of sentient beings in these worlds of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, suppose good men and good women and others were to teach and transform the various kinds of sentient beings in all the worlds throughout the ten directions, causing them all to cultivate and train in the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable states, the four formless absorptions, and the five superknowledges. What do you think? Would those good men and good women and others, through these causes and conditions, gain much merit?

Śakra, Lord of the Gods, replied: “World-Honored One, it would be very great! Sugata, it would be very great!”

The Buddha said: “Kauśika! If good men and good women and others copy out this profound prajñāpāramitā and present it to others for reading and recitation, or pass it from one to another to be copied and disseminated widely, the merit gained by those good men and good women and others would far exceed the former. Why is this?

Kauśika! It is because all uncontaminated dharmas are extensively taught within the secret treasury of prajñāpāramitā such as this. Pudgalas of the Śrāvaka lineage who cultivate and train in this Dharma swiftly enter the Śrāvakas’ rightly determined state of separation from arising and attain the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning, and the fruit of arhatship.

Pudgalas of the Pratyekabuddha lineage who cultivate and train in this Dharma swiftly enter the Pratyekabuddhas’ rightly determined state of separation from arising and, in due sequence, realize the fruit of Pratyekabuddhahood. Pudgalas of the bodhisattva lineage who cultivate and train in this Dharma swiftly enter the bodhisattvas’ rightly determined state of separation from arising, progressively cultivate the bodhisattva practices, and realize unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.

“Kauśika! All uncontaminated dharmas are extensively taught within the secret treasury of prajñāpāramitā such as this, namely: the pāramitā of generosity, the pāramitā of pure morality, the pāramitā of patient endurance, the pāramitā of diligence, the pāramitā of dhyāna, and the pāramitā of prajñā;

the emptiness of the internal, the emptiness of the external, the emptiness of the internal and external, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of ultimate meaning, the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, boundless emptiness, the emptiness of dispersion, the emptiness of non-change, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, the emptiness of individual characteristics, the emptiness of common characteristics, the emptiness of all dharmas, the emptiness of the ungraspable, the emptiness of nonexistence, the emptiness of self-nature, and the emptiness of the self-nature of nonexistence;

suchness, the dharma-dhātu, dharma-nature, the nature free from falsity, the nature free from change, the nature of equality, the nature of separation from arising, the certainty of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the limit of reality, the realm of space, and the inconceivable realm; the four uncontaminated dhyānas, the four immeasurable states, and the four formless absorptions; the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive absorptions, and the ten spheres of totality; 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 enlightenment, and the Noble Eightfold Path;

the liberation gateway of emptiness, the liberation gateway of signlessness, and the liberation gateway of wishlessness; the five kinds of eyes and the six superknowledges; the Buddha’s ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed understandings, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen distinctive qualities of a Buddha; the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the paths, and the knowledge of all aspects; all dhāraṇī gateways, all samādhi gateways, and immeasurable and boundless other Buddha-dharmas—all are uncontaminated dharmas taught therein.

“Kauśika! If good men and good women and others teach and transform a single sentient being, establishing that being in the fruit of stream-entry, the merit they gain surpasses even that gained by teaching and transforming the various kinds of sentient beings in all the worlds throughout the ten directions, causing them all to cultivate and train in the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable states, the four formless absorptions, and the five superknowledges.

Why is this? Kauśika! It is because sentient beings who cultivate the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable states, the four formless absorptions, and the five superknowledges are not thereby freed from the hells or the destinies of animals and hungry ghosts; but sentient beings established in the fruit of stream-entry are forever freed from the three evil destinies.

How much more merit, then, would be gained by teaching and transforming them and causing them to be established in the fruits of once-returning, non-returning, or arhatship! Would it not surpass the former?

“Kauśika! If good men and good women and others teach and transform the various kinds of sentient beings in all the worlds throughout the ten directions, establishing them all in the fruits of stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, and arhatship, the merit they gain does not equal that of one who teaches and transforms a single sentient being and causes that being to abide in the fruit of Pratyekabuddhahood. Why is this? Kauśika! It is because the merit of the fruit of Pratyekabuddhahood surpasses that of stream-entry and the other fruits by hundreds and thousands of times.

“Kauśika! If good men and good women and others teach and transform the various kinds of sentient beings in all the worlds throughout the ten directions, causing them all to abide securely in the fruit of Pratyekabuddhahood, the merit they gain does not equal that of one who teaches and transforms a single sentient being and causes that being to proceed toward unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Why is this?

Kauśika! It is because teaching and transforming a sentient being and causing that being to proceed toward unsurpassed perfect enlightenment ensures that the Buddha-eye in the world will never be cut off. Why is this?

Because great bodhisattvas exist, there come to be the fruits of stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, arhatship, and Pratyekabuddhahood. Because great bodhisattvas exist, there come to be Tathāgatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Awakened Ones who realize unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Because great bodhisattvas exist, there come to be the Jewel of the Buddha, the Jewel of the Dharma, and the Jewel of the Sangha, in which all the world takes refuge and to which it makes offerings.

Therefore, Kauśika, the entire world—whether gods, māras, brahmās, śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, asuras, humans, nonhumans, and others—should respectfully make offerings to, honor, revere, and praise great bodhisattvas with immeasurable exquisite flower garlands, fragrant ointments, powdered incense, and other offerings; with garments, necklaces, banners, pennants, jeweled canopies, all kinds of precious gems, music, lamps, and all that they possess.”

“Kausika! Therefore, you should know that if good men, good women, and others copy out such profound prajnaparamita and give it to others to read and recite, or pass it among themselves to be copied and disseminated widely, the merit they thereby acquire surpasses the merit previously described by an immeasurable and boundless amount. Why?

Because all the supreme wholesome dharmas, both mundane and supramundane, have been extensively taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita. Because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the great kshatriya clans, the great brahmin clans, the great householder clans, and the great lay clans; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods of the Four Great Kings, the gods of the Thirty-Three, the Yama gods, the Tushita gods, the gods Who Delight in Creation, and the gods Who Exercise Mastery over the Creations of Others;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods of the Brahma Assembly, the Ministers of Brahma, the Retinue of Brahma, and Great Brahma; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods of Light, the gods of Limited Light, the gods of Immeasurable Light, and the gods of Utmost Purity of Light; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods of Purity, the gods of Limited Purity, the gods of Immeasurable Purity, and the gods of Pervasive Purity;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods of Vastness, the gods of Limited Vastness, the gods of Immeasurable Vastness, and the gods of Abundant Fruit; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods Free from Affliction, the gods Free from Heat, the gods of Excellent Manifestation, the gods of Excellent Vision, and the gods of the Ultimate Form Realm; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the gods of the Sphere of Infinite Space, the gods of the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, the gods of the Sphere of Nothingness, and the gods of the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the perfection of generosity, the perfection of pure morality, the perfection of patient acceptance, the perfection of diligence, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world inner emptiness, outer emptiness, inner-and-outer emptiness, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of ultimate meaning, the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, boundless emptiness, the emptiness of dispersion, the emptiness of non-change, the emptiness of fundamental nature, the emptiness of individual characteristics, 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;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world suchness, the dharma-dhatu, dharma-nature, the nature free from falsity, the nature free from change, the nature of equality, the nature of freedom from arising, the certainty of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the true limit, the realm of space, and the inconceivable realm; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the Noble Truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering, and the Noble Truth of the path;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurables, and the four formless attainments; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive meditative attainments, and the ten spheres of totality; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of spiritual power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, and the eightfold noble path;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the liberation gateway of emptiness, the liberation gateway of signlessness, and the liberation gateway of wishlessness; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the five kinds of eyes and the six superknowledges; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the ten powers of a Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed understandings, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen unique qualities of a Buddha;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the dharma of never losing mindfulness and the nature of perpetual equanimity; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the paths, and the knowledge of all aspects; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world all dharani gateways and all samadhi gateways;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats, as well as those practicing toward stream-entry, those who have attained the fruit of stream-entry, those practicing toward once-returning, those who have attained the fruit of once-returning, those practicing toward non-returning, those who have attained the fruit of non-returning, those practicing toward arhatship, and those who have attained the fruit of arhatship; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world pratyekabuddhas and the fruit of pratyekabuddhahood;

because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world all great bodhisattvas and all the practices of great bodhisattvas; because of the dharmas taught in this secret treasury of prajnaparamita, there exist in the world all Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Awakened Ones, and the supreme awakening of the Buddhas.

“Furthermore, Kausika! If good men, good women, and others receive and uphold this prajnaparamita, read and recite it, and contemplate it in accordance with principle, the merit acquired by those good men, good women, and others surpasses that acquired by teaching all kinds of sentient beings throughout Jambudvipa and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of karma, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, and the five superknowledges.

“Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men, good women, and others also surpasses that acquired by teaching all kinds of sentient beings throughout the continents of Southern Jambudvipa and Eastern Videha and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of karma, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, and the five superknowledges.

“Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men, good women, and others also surpasses that acquired by teaching all kinds of sentient beings throughout the continents of Southern Jambudvipa, Eastern Videha, and Western Godaniya and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of karma, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, and the five superknowledges.

“Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men, good women, and others also surpasses that acquired by teaching all kinds of sentient beings throughout the continents of Southern Jambudvipa, Eastern Videha, Western Godaniya, and Northern Kuru and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of karma, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, and the five superknowledges.”

O Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men and good women and others also surpasses that of teaching all kinds of sentient beings throughout the four great continents and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of action, the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, the four formless concentrations, and the five superknowledges.

O Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men and good women and others also surpasses that of teaching all kinds of sentient beings in a small chiliocosm and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of action, the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, the four formless concentrations, and the five superknowledges.

O Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men and good women and others also surpasses that of teaching all kinds of sentient beings in a medium chiliocosm and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of action, the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, the four formless concentrations, and the five superknowledges.

O Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men and good women and others also surpasses that of teaching all kinds of sentient beings in a great trichiliocosm and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of action, the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, the four formless concentrations, and the five superknowledges.

O Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men and good women and others also surpasses that of teaching all kinds of sentient beings in worlds throughout the ten directions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of action, the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, the four formless concentrations, and the five superknowledges.

O Kausika! The merit acquired by those good men and good women and others also surpasses that of teaching all kinds of sentient beings in all worlds throughout the ten directions and causing them all to abide in the ten wholesome courses of action, the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, the four formless concentrations, and the five superknowledges.

O Kausika! Here, such correct contemplation means comprehending this prajnaparamita through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, receiving and retaining it, reading and reciting it, and contemplating it correctly; and likewise comprehending the perfections of dhyana, vigor, patient acceptance, pure morality, and generosity through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, receiving and retaining them, reading and reciting them, and contemplating them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends internal emptiness through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly; one likewise comprehends external emptiness, internal-and-external emptiness, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, emptiness of the ultimate meaning, emptiness of the conditioned, emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, boundless emptiness, emptiness of dispersion, emptiness of the unchanging, emptiness of intrinsic nature, emptiness of individual characteristics, emptiness of common characteristics, emptiness of all dharmas, emptiness of the unobtainable, emptiness of nonexistence, emptiness of self-nature, and emptiness of the self-nature of nonexistence through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual,

and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends suchness through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly; one likewise comprehends the dharmadhatu, the nature of dharmas, the nature free from falsity, the unchanging nature, the nature of equality, the nature of separation from arising, the certainty of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the true limit, the realm of empty space, and the inconceivable realm through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the Noble Truth of suffering through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly; one likewise comprehends the Noble Truths of its origin, cessation, and the path through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the four dhyanas through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly; one likewise comprehends the four immeasurables and the four formless concentrations through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the eight liberations through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly; one likewise comprehends the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten totality spheres through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the four foundations of mindfulness through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly; one likewise comprehends the four right efforts, the four bases of supernormal power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, and the eight factors of the Noble Path through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the gateway to liberation through emptiness through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly; one likewise comprehends the gateways to liberation through signlessness and wishlessness through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the five kinds of eyes through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly; one likewise comprehends the six superknowledges through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the ten powers of a Buddha through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly; one likewise comprehends the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen distinctive qualities of a Buddha through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the quality of never losing mindfulness through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly; one likewise comprehends the nature of constant equanimity through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates it correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the knowledge of all things through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly; one likewise comprehends the knowledge of the aspects of the paths and the knowledge of all aspects through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends all dharani gateways through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly; one likewise comprehends all samadhi gateways through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual, and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends the practices of great bodhisattvas through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates them correctly.

O Kausika! One further comprehends unsurpassed perfect awakening through a practice that is neither dual nor nondual and contemplates it correctly.

Furthermore, O Kausika! If good men, good women, and others extensively expound, demonstrate, reveal, elucidate, and clearly explain this prajnaparamita to others by immeasurable methods, discerning its meaning and purport so that they may readily understand it, the merit they acquire surpasses the merit of personally receiving and retaining, reading, or reciting such prajnaparamita and contemplating it correctly.

O Kausika! The so-called meaning and purport of this prajnaparamita is that this prajnaparamita is neither dual nor nondual, neither endowed with characteristics nor without characteristics, neither entering nor emerging, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither defiled nor purified, neither arising nor ceasing, neither grasping nor relinquishing, neither clinging nor not clinging, neither abiding nor not abiding, neither real nor unreal, neither associated nor unassociated, neither conjoined nor unconjoined, neither conditioned by causes and conditions nor not conditioned by causes and conditions, neither a dharma nor not a dharma, neither suchness nor not suchness, and neither the true limit nor not the true limit. Such meanings and purports comprise immeasurable Dharma gateways.

O Kausika! If good men, good women, and others constantly provide extensive instruction to others concerning the profound meaning and purport of such prajnaparamita, enabling them to understand it readily, the merit they acquire is immeasurably greater than the merit of personally receiving and retaining, reading, or reciting such prajnaparamita and contemplating it correctly.

Furthermore, O Kausika! If good men, good women, and others personally receive and retain this prajnaparamita, read and recite it, contemplate it correctly, and extensively expound, demonstrate, reveal, elucidate, and clearly explain it to others by immeasurable methods, discerning its meaning and purport so that they may readily understand it, the merit acquired by those good men, good women, and others surpasses the merit previously described by an immeasurable and boundless degree.

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Gods, addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Good men and good women and others should employ various profound and skillful expressions and meanings to expound and reveal prajnaparamita in this way.”

The Buddha said: “Kauśika! So it is! So it is! It is exactly as you have said. Good men and good women and others should employ various profound and skillful expressions and meanings to expound and reveal prajnaparamita in this way.

“Kauśika! If good men and good women and others constantly employ various profound and skillful expressions and meanings to expound and reveal prajnaparamita in this way, they will accomplish immeasurable, innumerable, boundless, inconceivably great merit.

“Kauśika! Suppose good men and good women and others, throughout their lives, were to use immeasurable varieties of exquisite flower garlands, fragrant ointments, powdered incense, and so forth; garments, necklaces, banners, streamers, precious canopies, various jewels, music, bright lamps, all their possessions, and pure musical instruments to reverently make offerings to, honor, and praise all Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly Enlightened Ones throughout immeasurable and innumerable worlds in the ten directions.

Suppose, further, that other good men and good women and others were themselves to receive and uphold this prajnaparamita, read and recite it, and contemplate it in accordance with principle; and, relying upon various profound and skillful expressions and meanings, were to employ immeasurable methods to extensively expound it to others, reveal it, elucidate and clearly explain it, and distinguish its meanings and purport so that they might easily understand.

The merit gained by the latter good men and good women and others would far exceed that of the former. Why is this? Kauśika!

It is because all Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, future, and present, through studying prajnaparamita, attained supreme enlightenment, will attain supreme enlightenment, and are attaining supreme enlightenment.

“Furthermore, Kauśika! Suppose good men and good women and others, throughout immeasurable, innumerable, boundless great kalpas, were to practice the perfection of generosity by taking apprehension as their means; throughout immeasurable, innumerable, boundless great kalpas, practice the perfection of pure morality by taking apprehension as their means; throughout immeasurable, innumerable, boundless great kalpas, practice the perfection of patient endurance by taking apprehension as their means; throughout immeasurable, innumerable, boundless great kalpas, practice the perfection of diligence by taking apprehension as their means; throughout immeasurable, innumerable, boundless great kalpas, practice the perfection of meditation by taking apprehension as their means;

and throughout immeasurable, innumerable, boundless great kalpas, practice prajnaparamita by taking apprehension as their means.

Suppose, further, that other good men and good women and others were to receive and uphold this prajnaparamita, read and recite it, and contemplate it in accordance with principle, taking non-apprehension as their means; and, employing various profound and skillful expressions and meanings, were for only a moment to expound it eloquently to others, reveal it, elucidate and clearly explain it, and distinguish its meanings and purport so that they might easily understand.

The merit they gained would far exceed that of the former practitioners.

“Kauśika! Here, what is called apprehension means that when good men and good women and others practice generosity, they think: ‘I am the giver, that person is the recipient, and here are the act of giving, the result of giving, and the gift.’ When they practice generosity while clinging to the designation ‘generosity,’ it cannot be called the perfection of generosity, because they take apprehension as their means. When good men and good women and others practice pure morality, if they think: ‘I am capable of observing the precepts and thereby safeguarding morality;

here are the result of observing the precepts and the precepts observed,’ then, when they observe the precepts while clinging to the designation ‘pure morality,’ it cannot be called the perfection of pure morality, because they take apprehension as their means.

When good men and good women and others practice patient endurance, if they think: ‘I am capable of practicing patient endurance and thereby safeguarding patience; here are the result of patience and the intrinsic nature of patience,’ then, when they practice patient endurance while clinging to the designation ‘patient endurance,’ it cannot be called the perfection of patient endurance, because they take apprehension as their means.

When good men and good women and others practice diligence, if they think: ‘I am capable of being diligent and thereby practicing to eliminate that dharma; here are the result of diligence and the intrinsic nature of diligence,’ then, when they practice diligence while clinging to the designation ‘diligence,’ it cannot be called the perfection of diligence, because they take apprehension as their means. When good men and good women and others practice meditation, if they think: ‘I am capable of practicing meditative concentration, that is the object of concentration, and here are the result of concentration and the intrinsic nature of concentration,’ then, when they practice meditation while clinging to the designation ‘meditation,’ it cannot be called the perfection of meditation,

because they take apprehension as their means.

When good men and good women and others practice prajna, if they think: ‘I am capable of cultivating wisdom, that is the object of wisdom, and here are the result of prajna and the intrinsic nature of prajna,’ then, when they cultivate wisdom while clinging to the designation ‘prajna,’ it cannot be called prajnaparamita, because they take apprehension as their means.

“Kauśika! Because those good men and good women and others take apprehension as their means, they cannot perfect the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditation, and prajna.”

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Gods, addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! How can great bodhisattvas perfect the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient endurance, diligence, meditation, and prajna?”

The Buddha said: “Kauśika! When great bodhisattvas practice generosity, if they do not perceive any giver, recipient, act of giving, result of giving, or gift, because they take non-apprehension as their means, they can perfect the perfection of generosity. When great bodhisattvas practice pure morality, if they do not perceive any observer of the precepts, result of safeguarding morality, or precepts observed, because they take non-apprehension as their means, they can perfect the perfection of pure morality.

When great bodhisattvas practice patient endurance, if they do not perceive any person who is patient, result of patience, or intrinsic nature of patience, because they take non-apprehension as their means, they can perfect the perfection of patient endurance. When great bodhisattvas practice diligence, if they do not perceive any diligent person, result of diligence, or intrinsic nature of diligence, because they take non-apprehension as their means, they can perfect the perfection of diligence.

When great bodhisattvas practice meditation, if they do not perceive any meditator, object of concentration, result of concentration, or intrinsic nature of meditation, because they take non-apprehension as their means, they can perfect the perfection of meditation. When great bodhisattvas practice prajna, if they do not perceive any cultivator of wisdom, object of wisdom, result of cultivating wisdom, or intrinsic nature of prajna, because they take non-apprehension as their means, they can perfect prajnaparamita.”

Kausika! Good men and good women and others should, with such wisdom of non-attainment and with various skillful and profound words and meanings, expound the prajnaparamita; they should, with such wisdom of non-attainment and with various skillful and profound words and meanings, expound the perfection of meditative concentration; they should, with such wisdom of non-attainment and with various skillful and profound words and meanings, expound the perfection of diligence; they should, with such wisdom of non-attainment and with various skillful and profound words and meanings, expound the perfection of patient endurance; they should, with such wisdom of non-attainment and with various skillful and profound words and meanings, expound the perfection of pure morality;

they should, with such wisdom of non-attainment and with various skillful and profound words and meanings, expound the perfection of generosity.

Why is this? Kausika! In a future age, some good men and good women and others will expound to others a semblance of the prajnaparamita.

Those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, upon hearing them teach this semblance of the prajnaparamita, will immediately become confused in mind and lose the Middle Way. Therefore, with the wisdom of non-attainment and various skillful and profound words and meanings, they should expound the prajnaparamita for those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

Kausika! In a future age, some good men and good women and others will expound to others a semblance of the perfection of meditative concentration. Those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, upon hearing them teach this semblance of the perfection of meditative concentration, will immediately become confused in mind and lose the Middle Way. Therefore, with the wisdom of non-attainment and various skillful and profound words and meanings, they should expound the perfection of meditative concentration for those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

Kausika! In a future age, some good men and good women and others will expound to others a semblance of the perfection of diligence. Those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, upon hearing them teach this semblance of the perfection of diligence, will immediately become confused in mind and lose the Middle Way. Therefore, with the wisdom of non-attainment and various skillful and profound words and meanings, they should expound the perfection of diligence for those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

Kausika! In a future age, some good men and good women and others will expound to others a semblance of the perfection of patient endurance. Those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, upon hearing them teach this semblance of the perfection of patient endurance, will immediately become confused in mind and lose the Middle Way. Therefore, with the wisdom of non-attainment and various skillful and profound words and meanings, they should expound the perfection of patient endurance for those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

Kausika! In a future age, some good men and good women and others will expound to others a semblance of the perfection of pure morality. Those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, upon hearing them teach this semblance of the perfection of pure morality, will immediately become confused in mind and lose the Middle Way. Therefore, with the wisdom of non-attainment and various skillful and profound words and meanings, they should expound the perfection of pure morality for those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

Kausika! In a future age, some good men and good women and others will expound to others a semblance of the perfection of generosity. Those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, upon hearing them teach this semblance of the perfection of generosity, will immediately become confused in mind and lose the Middle Way. Therefore, with the wisdom of non-attainment and various skillful and profound words and meanings, they should expound the perfection of generosity for those who have newly aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

Fascicle 135

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